A man from Bradford has been jailed for life for murdering his niece at her home in Bradford.
Mohammed Taroos Khan, 53 of Thornbury Road, was convicted of Somaiya Begum’s murder at Bradford Crown Court on Tuesday 14 March.
Today, the Judge, the Honourable Justice Neil Garnham sentenced Khan for life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years.
The judge told Khan: “you will go to prison for life for murder and perverting the course of justice for five years, to run concurrently. You cannot apply for parole until after 25 years.”
While passing the sentence the judge added that there was ‘no significant mitigation’ and said that Khan would be an ‘old man’ by the time he could apply for parole.
The judge rejected the suggestion that this is an honour killing.
He said: “It is pure speculation if this murder was part of some appalling family agreement. This has been a dreadful attack by you on an innocent woman.”
Somaiya’s body was found dumped on wasteland off Fitzwilliam Street, just over a mile or so from her home in Binnie Street, on 6 July last year, after she was reported missing almost a week ago.
She was discovered with a 10.7cm-long metal spike embedded in her back, which had penetrated her lung, when her body was found. Home Office forensic pathologist Kirsten Hope told the court that strangulation was a possible cause of death. However, Dr Hope was unable to ascertain a cause of death, as the beautiful Leeds Beckett student’s body was extensively decomposed, especially her head and neck.
Khan had denied murdering Somaiya, of Binnie Street, Barkerend, on or around 25 June 2022, but had admitted to disposing of her body.
The court heard detailed accounts of Somaiya’s troubled family life. The twenty-year-old student had been living with her grandmother and one of her other uncles after her parents had been issued with a Forced Marriage Protection Order, which was given following her refusal to marry a cousin in Pakistan when she was 16 years old ‘by threat of violence’.
It was explained to the court that the defendant was also prohibited by court from going to the address where Somaiya was living as he held ‘similar’ hard-line attitudes as his brother (Somaiya’s father, Yasin Khan) towards his daughter Kynath Begum
Mr Jason Pitter KC, prosecuting, said Khan visited the home on Binnie Street three times on 25 June last year, in his Mitsubishi Space Wagon vehicle and had contacted Somaiya by phone.
Khan had cut a key for the property before he turned up at the address at about 3.50 pm, the jury was told.
Mr Pitter said: “At around 3.30 pm, Somaiya Begum sent final messages to her close companion and school friend. Not long after that, her telephone was to cease meaningful use.
“That coincided with the arrival of her uncle, the defendant, Mohammed Taroos Khan at her home address in the minutes afterwards.
“Whilst the prosecution cannot say precisely when Somaiya was killed, you can conclude that something significant had happened around or shortly after that point because there was no apparent further communication between Somaiya and anyone else after that time.”
Mr Pitter said Khan had then gone to Carter Gate Works industrial yard where he had living quarters, before returning to Binnie Street at 5.29 pm.
The prosecutor told the court Khan had made searches online for ‘large, one tonne capacity, rubble bags including at the B&Q store during the intervening period
He said: “The CCTV footage showed him opening a door to a container. He can be seen to be wearing gloves at the time.
“He then reversed his car up to the container entrance; however, the door was positioned in such a way as to obscure what he was doing from the CCTV camera.”
Mr Pitter said Khan was discovered by Somaiya’s uncle, Dawood, at the property at around 6.30 pm after he walked through the home’s ‘normally locked front door’.
The jury was told that it was during this period when Khan was making ‘his plans to finally dispose of her body’.
Ms Begum’s remains were found on the industrial site several days later by police on 6 July, with a post-mortem examination showing signs of ‘trauma and assault.’
