How hitman-style assassination baffled remote UK island for over a decade… before mysterious letter revealed takeaway killer's true identity
Families were dining in the island's only Indian restaurant when a masked man calmly walked in and killed 26-year-old waiter Shamsuddin Mahmood at point black range, before vanishing into the night without uttering a single word.
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The murder scene shows a bullet hole in the wall where Mahmood was shot
Credit: Coll MacDougall
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Waiter Shamsuddin Mahmood was murdered with a single bullet in the Mumataz Indian Restaurant in Kirkwall, Orkney
Credit: Amazon
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The murder continues to divide...
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Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Bleeding schoolboy asked for napkins after daylight knife attack left him with head wound
Police were called to Duke Street in Liverpool city centre at around 4.20pm today A teenager burst into an Indian restaurant "begging for napkins" after being slashed across the head in a brutal daylight knife attack. Merseyside Police raced to Duke Street at around 4.20pm on Wednesday, August 13, following reports a boy had been attacked with a bladed weapon. Emergency services rushed to the scene and the victim, thought to be 15 years old, was rushed to hospital with a minor head laceration. This comes as 13 children have been injured in a freak funfair derailment. Police confirmed the injured teenager is in a stable condition. According to initial reports, the suspect, described as around 17 or 18 years old, fled the scene on an electric pedal bike. READ MORE: Teen died after police rush to her flat, but could not be saved due to 'frustrating' delay A cordon has been established on a stretch of Colquitt Street and a small section of Duke Street outside the Indian Tiffin Room restaurant. When the Liverpool Echo arrived at the scene, a trail of blood and a bloodied tissue could be seen on the steps outside the restaurant. A bike was also inside the cordon. A member of staff at the restaurant, who did not wish to be named, described the moment the victim ran into the restaurant "asking for napkins" following the assault. He said: "He came running in asking for some napkins. He had blood coming out his ear, he was bleeding really badly. We just gave him the napkins and four or five people passing by called the ambulance. "It happened on Colquitt Street but the guy came running this way looking for help." The Indian Tiffin Room restaurant remained open to customers. Merseyside Police slam 'reckless' attack Chief Inspector Phil Thompson said: "This was a shocking incident and an investigation is ongoing to find the person responsible. "There would have been plenty of people in the area at the time of the incident, so please get in touch if you saw what happened or have any information." The Chief Inspector also condemned the use of weapons, saying: "The use of bladed weapons is extremely reckless and will not be tolerated anywhere in Merseyside. "I would urge people to educate themselves and speak to their children and family members about the dangers of carrying these sorts of weapons on our streets." He reassured residents that measures were being taken to ensure their safety, adding: "A cordon remains in place at the scene and patrols have been stepped up in the area to provide reassurance to those who live, work and visit our city centre."
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Bryan Kohberger prosecutor admits two key questions from the case will probably never be answered
The Idaho prosecutor who led the case against Bryan Kohberger has admitted that two key questions about the stabbing murders of four students will probably never be answered. Latah County Prosecutor Bill Thompson spoke to Idaho News 6 as the 30-year-old criminology student turned mass killer begins his new life behind bars inside Idaho's maximum-security prison. Despite Kohberger finally confessing to his crimes, Thompson said he believes the killer's motive will never truly come to light. He also believes the murder weapon used to slaughter the victims - believed to be a KaBar knife bought from Amazon months before the attack - will never be found. 'I don't think we'll ever know,' he said of the location of the knife. 'I know there's questions. That's human nature for all of us to think, "okay, explain why that happened". I understand that.' But FBI profilers have long said that, due to the nature of the crime, these things will likely remain a mystery, Thompson said. 'I can tell you from the very beginning the FBI brought out members of the behavioral analysis unit, their profilers, to try to help us develop some insights,' he said. 'And they told us early on that, just looking at the nature of the crimes and the fact that there is no direct connection anybody could find between the murderer and the victims, they said in our experience you likely will never know why this happened. 'And even if the murderer would try to say something, it wouldn't make sense to anybody but the murderer and that's the reality.' In the early hours of November 13, 2022, Kohberger broke into an off-campus home in the college town of Moscow, Idaho, and stabbed the four victims - 21-year-old best friends Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves, and couple Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin, both 20 - to death. He was arrested around six weeks later at his parents' home in the Poconos Mountains of Pennsylvania, after his DNA was found on a knife sheath left behind at the scene. Surveillance footage on nearby homes and businesses also captured his white Hyundai Elantra circling the home multiple times in the hour before the murders before speeding away from the scene. After spending more than two years fighting the charges, Kohberger finally confessed to his crimes and pleaded guilty in Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, on July 2 in exchange for the death penalty being taken off the table. During an emotional sentencing hearing on July 23, Judge Steven Hippler handed Kohberger four life sentences with no possibility of parole for each count of first-degree murder and an additional 10 years for burglary. Under the terms of the deal, Kohberger waived his right to ever appeal and will never have the opportunity to walk free from prison. At the sentencing, Kohberger turned down the opportunity to address the court, leaving the victims' families in the dark about the murders. Kohberger has not revealed his motive for the murders or why he chose his victims. To this day, prosecutors have found no connection between him and any of the victims or the two surviving roommates who lived through the attack. The murder weapon has also never been found despite extensive searches. In the hours after the murders, Kohberger took a drive by the Clearwater and Snake Rivers - vast bodies of water where it is possible he disposed of evidence. While some of the victims' families support the plea deal, Thompson has faced criticism from some for both striking the deal and for not making it a requirement that Kohberger reveals details about his crimes. The prosecutor told Idaho News 6 he stands by his decisions. 'In a case like this, we aren't going to get answers from the defendant. Even if he said something, there would be no way to corroborate it or believe him,' he said. However, he said he respects that the victims' families all have different views on his actions. 'We cannot imagine what it must be like to lose a child the way these families have lost a child, a sister, a brother, a friend. It's just unimaginable,' he said. 'So we support completely everyone has their own way of dealing with it.' Daily Mail forensically re-traced Kohberger's steps in the hours after the murders. He drove by the Clearwater and Snake Rivers - vast bodies of water where it is possible he disposed of evidence Thompson said he engaged very little with the mass killer inside the courtroom. He described how Kohberger maintained a chilling, vacant demeanor even when confronted with the brutality of his crimes and the devastating grief of the families he tore apart. 'Anybody who sees me in court knows I tend to engage with defendants in sentencing,' Thompson said. 'But there was a vacancy, a distance that I saw in this defendant or that I sensed. 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The inmates are tormenting him at night and almost all hours of the day - taunting him through the vents in his cell,' Chris McDonough, a retired homicide detective who now works for the Cold Case Foundation, told the Daily Mail. 'They are literally getting up into the grate and yelling at him. The inmates are taking it in turns doing it. It's relentless.' He added of Kohberger: 'He's extremely annoyed and frustrated. He's complaining to the authorities that he can't sleep because of them.' For now, Kohberger is being held in solitary confinement on J block's restrictive housing unit. The Department of Corrections could move him to general population in future if they deem it safe to do so.
Daily Record
11 hours ago
- Daily Record
Girl, 12, raped by 200 men after failing exam and running away from home
The young girl was saved from an Indian prostitution ring after suffering a three-month-long period of horrific abuse. A young girl has been rescued from a prostitution ring in India after being raped by more than 200 men within three months. The child, originally from Bangladesh, ran away to India out of fear of being beaten by her parents for failing a school subject. A woman she knew assisted in smuggling her across the border but according to Indian police, upon arrival, she was taken to Nadiad in Gujarat and forced into prostitution, reports the Mirror. During her ordeal, she faced continuous sexual abuse until being freed on July 26, following a collaborative effort between a local advocacy group and the anti-human trafficking unit of the local police. With 10 individuals arrested so far, activists say her extraction from these horrors marks only the beginning of a long road to recovery. "This girl has not even reached her teenage years, but her childhood has been stolen by such monsters in the flesh trade," said Abraham Mathai, founder-chairman of the Harmony Foundation, one of the NGOs involved. "Behind every such rescue is a child who wasn't heard; a child failed first by those meant to protect her, and then by a society that only reacts when it's too late." Mathai also highlighted children can be put at risk due to severe parenting methods. Local police commissioner Niket Kaushik said law enforcement is actively investigating to dismantle the network and safeguard other at-risk children. Despite these efforts, activists argue the police must intensify their actions to ensure the safety of children. Activist Madhu Shankar added: "I have often seen minor girls begging in Vashi and Belapur areas, who are often stolen as babies from villages, brought to cities and then exploited. "They are handled by one or two elderly women who also push them into prostitution. They are even administered hormonal injections so that they attain puberty earlier." Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Research by Child Rights and You revealed a dramatic increase in sexual violence across India, with incidents soaring by 96 per cent between 2016 and 2022. Nearly 40,000 cases of child rape and sexual assault were recorded in 2022 alone. In April, a teenage girl in India suffered a horrific gang rape by 23 men who allegedly passed her between them, transporting her to different attackers at each location. The 19-year-old victim alleges she was kidnapped by a man whilst returning home from her friend's house on March 29 in Varanasi, northern India. She stated she was transported to a café in a neighbouring town, three miles away, where she encountered her next attacker. Local media reported the teenager was subsequently taken by another man and his accomplice to a highway, where they sexually assaulted her. They then abandoned her in another town called Nadesar.
