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Metro
an hour ago
- Metro
Husband 'tracked down fleeing wife and killed her as she walked with their baby'
Kulsuma Akter was due to be rehoused just two days before her windpipe and left jugular vein were slashed (Picture: Family Handout/PA Wire) A 'jealous' husband stabbed his wife to death after tracking her down to a refuge she had gone to escape him, a court has heard. Habibur Masum, 26, allegedly launched a 'ferocious' knife attack on Kulsuma Akter, 27, while she pushed their baby's pram in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The mum had fled to a hostel in Bradford 'to escape' her husband's 'violence, jealousyand controlling behaviour', Bradford Crown Court heard. She was due to be rehoused just two days before her windpipe and left jugular vein were slashed. Masum had been on bail conditions which ordered him to keep away from his wife, jurors were told (Picture: West Yorkshire Police/PA Wire) Sign up for all of the latest stories Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens. Masum had been on bail conditions which ordered him to keep away from Akter, but in March that year, Akter allegedly told her social worker that her husband had contacted her He had sent her a Snapchat with a threat to kill her brothers if she did not go back to him and the next day he sent another Snapchat video saying he had 'come to her town', jurors were told. He then sent her a photo of the refuge where she was staying, adding: 'I know that you are living in this place. I knew from the first day you moved here. 'If I had any wish to kill you, I could have from the first day. You do not know what you have lost, but one day you will understand. Nobody will love you like I do.' On the day of her death on April 6 last year, however, Akter 'felt safe to leave the refuge' because she had heard from Masum's relatives that he was in Spain, jurors were told. The mum was out walking her seven-month-old son in a pram with a friend when Masum walked with her into a shop. Masum had tracked down his wife in Bradford in the days leading up to the attack and had tried to lure her out of the hostel by pretending to be from a GP's surgery, the prosecution also said in court. Akter and Masum at their wedding Footage seen in court showed Masum then walking with his wife before he spun her and her pram around. He then pulled out a knife from his jacket and began violently attacking Akter, the court heard. Prosecutor Steven Wood KC said: 'He grabs Kulsuma and pushes her into a wall, stabbing her to the body. You will see that Kulsuma then goes to the ground only for the defendant to launch a ferocious and deadly attack. 'When the defendant had finished stabbing her, as a final act of sheer gratuitous violence, he kicks Kulsuma before moving away, but not before ensuring that he disposed of the knife. 'The [prosecution] say this was cold-blooded, calculated, pre-meditated murder. 'Why would the defendant take a knife with him to meet his estranged wife unless he planned to use it?' Akter had escaped previous threats on her life from her partner, who had been married for 18 months in November 2023, the court heard. Mr Wood said: 'Generally, the relationship had been good, but there were already warning signs. Habibur Masum is accused of a 'cold-blooded, calculated, premeditated murder' (Credits: Elizabeth Cook/PA Wire) 'There were previous incidents of his making threats to kill her and in July 2023, she was staying with family members because of his controlling behaviour.' Jurors were told a 'completely innocuous' message from a male colleague to Akter, Masum became violent by slapping her and pulling her hair. The court also heard 'a chilling prediction' made Masum, when he told his wife: 'I am going to murder you, and the police will be taking me'. The next day, he allegedly put a knife to her throat in their bedroom and threatened her over her relationship with the colleague. Masum was arrested that night after a female family member called the police. After denying using violence in a police interview, he was then charged with two offences of assault by beating and one offence of making a threat to kill. Masum denies murdering Ms Akter but has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and possession of a knife. He also denies two charges of assault, one count of making threats to kill and one charge of stalking. The trial continues. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. Arrow MORE: Plastic surgeon who stabbed rival doctor and tried to burn down his home jailed Arrow MORE: Couple find their stolen car and take it back after getting fed up with police Arrow MORE: Boy's alleged killer 'was flat Earth conspiracy theorist inspired by Elon Musk'
ITV News
4 hours ago
- ITV News
'Jealous' husband stabbed wife as she walked baby after stalking her, court told
A 'violent, jealous, controlling' husband stalked his estranged wife to a women's refuge before stabbing her to death as she pushed their baby in a pram, a court has heard. Habibur Masum, 26, launched a 'ferocious' knife attack on Kulsuma Akter, 27, after confronting her on a street in Bradford, Bradford Crown Court was told. The jury heard Ms Akter had fled her home in Oldham to a hostel in Bradford 'to escape his violence, jealousy and controlling behaviour'. Masum, from Burnley, had previously been arrested over claims he had threatened to kill Ms Akter and was banned from contacting her when he attacked her on 6 April last year. Opening the case on Monday, prosecutor Steven Wood KC said Masum had tracked Ms Akter to Bradford before trying to trick her into leaving the hostel by pretending to be from a GP's surgery and offering her fake appointments. The court heard he confronted Ms Akter as she walked with a friend while pushing the couple's seven-month-old son in a pram. Mr Wood said she was shocked Masum was there as she believed he was in Spain at the time. CCTV footage played in court showed Masum walking alongside Ms Akter before he stopped her, spun her and the pram around and pulled a knife from his jacket. He then stabbed her. Mr Wood said Masum launched a "ferocious and deadly attack" on his wife as she lay on the ground. 'When the defendant had finished stabbing her, as a final act of sheer gratuitous violence, he kicks Kulsuma before moving away, but not before ensuring that he disposed of the knife,' he said. The court heard Ms Akter suffered multiple stab wounds to her body and face, including a wound to the neck which partly cut her windpipe and severed her left jugular vein. Mr Wood told jurors: 'The [prosecution] say this was cold-blooded, calculated, pre-meditated murder. 'Why would the defendant take a knife with him to meet his estranged wife unless he planned to use it?' Previous threat to kill The court heard Masum had previously threatened to kill Ms Akter and in November 2023 attacked her over a 'completely innocuous' message she received from a male colleague. 'In what you may think was a chilling prediction of what he was to do in April of the following year, he told Kulsuma, 'I am going to murder you, and the police will be taking me',' Mr Wood said. The next day he threatened her with a knife, prompting a female family member to call the police. Masum was arrested that night, jurors heard. The court heard Masum was charged with two offences of assault and one of making a threat to kill. Jurors heard Ms Akter told a social worker from Oldham Council she 'believed that one day her husband would kill her', asking if her son could stay with her sister-in-law and brother 'when this day comes'. She was moved to accommodation in Bradford in January 2024, but the court heard Masum contacted her on Snapchat, threatening to kill her brothers. The jury was told the refuge contacted the police but Masum sent her a video the next day of Bradford railway station, with a message saying he had 'come to her town'. He later sent her a photo of the refuge with a message saying: 'I know that you are living in this place. I knew from the first day you moved here. 'If I had any wish to kill you, I could have from the first day. You do not know what you have lost but one day you will understand. Nobody will love you like I do.' Ms Akter's social worker arranged for her to be rehoused and she was due to move on 8 April but died two days before the transfer. After stabbing Ms Akter, Masum left her and his son at the scene and got on a bus, Mr Wood said. He later travelled almost 200 miles south to Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, and was arrested in the early hours of 9 April in a car park near Stoke Mandeville Hospital, where he had attended to be treated for 'lock jaw'. Masum denies murdering Ms Akter but has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and possession of a knife. He also denies two charges of assault, one count of making threats to kill and one charge of stalking. The trial continues.
ITV News
09-05-2025
- ITV News
Pair who caused crash which killed teenage mum in Baildon jailed
A driver who ignored a teenage mum's pleas to stop during a police chase has been jailed for causing her death by dangerous driving. Jordan Spalding was behind the wheel of a £600 Vauxhall Vectra, which had been bought earlier that day by Shakeel Ahmed, when he lost control and crashed in Baildon, near Bradford, in January 2023. The car, which had been travelling at over 60mph, hit a garden wall and flipped over. Amber Deakin, an 18-year-old who was one of four passengers sitting in the back, suffered a fatal head injury. Bradford Crown Court heard she had shouted at Spalding during the pursuit: "I've got a kid. Just stop please. I need to get home to my kid.' Spalding, who only held a provisional licence and was not insured, had to be helped to drive the car by Ahmed, who had been operating the loose gear-stick from the front passenger seat during the pursuit. Spalding was trapped in the car and had to be cut free, but the court heard that Ahmed fled the scene. Spalding, 23, of Wharncliffe Crescent, Bradford, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and was jailed for nine years and 10 months. Ahmed, 29, of Moresby Road, Bradford, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting Spalding's dangerous driving. He was jailed for 11 years and one month. Both men will have to serve 10-year driving bans after they are released from prison. The Recorder of Bradford Judge Jonathan Rose said Amber, the mother of a then 18-month-old child, had her life 'stolen' by the defendants' 'irresponsible, dangerous and utterly abhorrent' driving. He told them: 'There are no words of condolence which I can express which will be adequate to meet the grief and sense of loss the family have experienced since the devastating news of Amber's death was brought to their door. 'Nor adequate to bring them some comfort in the many years ahead when they will only have photographs and memories of a young woman killed by you. Their grief and the consequences of Amber's death will far exceed the time each of you will spend in custody.' Judge Rose said Spalding ignored Amber's pleas to stop. 'Instead you transformed this from an idiotic and potentially dangerous piece of driving into driving that which would almost inevitably end in an accident, a crash, injury and death,' the judge told Spalding. Amber's mother Hayley Norton said in a statement that since the incident her life had been filled with "unbearable sorrow". 'I find myself unable to focus on anything, consumed by the pain of losing my daughter,' she said. 'The emptiness I feel is overwhelming and the world no longer seems as bright without her in it.' Det Con Lindsey Pickles, of the West Yorkshire Police Major Collision Enquiry Team, said: 'This is the stark reality of the consequences of driving dangerously on the roads, her death could have been avoided. 'Whilst Ahmed was not the driver, we welcome his sentence, he encouraged the dangerous driving as seen in the snapchat footage. 'The sentence today will never bring Amber back to her family, I hope it goes some way in providing comfort knowing that justice has been served.'
BBC News
08-05-2025
- BBC News
Hospital order for Shipley woman who killed husband
A woman who battered her husband to death with a garden tool before setting his body on fire has been made the subject of an indefinite hospital Poole, 53, killed 92-year-old David Hart in the garden of their home in Shetland Close, Shipley, in April been diagnosed with schizophrenia she was deemed unfit to stand trial, but after a hearing at Bradford Crown Court a jury concluded she had carried out the acts Poole into the care of Rampton Hospital, Mr Justice Cotter said Mr Hart had been killed in "terrifying circumstances" while trying to defend himself. During the four day hearing jurors were told Mr Hart had heard screaming for help on the afternoon he later described seeing him on the ground in a "pool of blood" before watching as Poole set his body camera footage played in court showed police forcing entry to the back garden shortly afterwards, where Poole was seen dousing herself in fuel in an outbuilding before being her arrest, the defendant made repeated references to "Jesus" and asked for her Bible, it was Justice Cotter sad as a result of Poole's ongoing and severe psychotic condition the appropriate disposal was a hospital order under the Mental Health order to protect the public he also imposed a restriction order which means that Poole cannot be released without her case being considered by the Secretary of State or a mental health added that if Poole were ever assessed as being fit to plead she could still face trial in the future. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Scottish Sun
02-05-2025
- Scottish Sun
Driver jailed for killing girl, 9, in horror crash as family pay touching tribute to ‘funny, loving & gentle daughter'
A DRIVER who killed a nine-year-old girl crossing the road outside her school has been sentenced today to eight years in jail. Alice Williams was crossing the road ahead of her mum and six-year-old brother in Halifax, West Yorkshire, when a driver - speeding at 49mph in a 30mph zone - ran a red light and crashed into her. Advertisement 5 Alice was tragically killed while crossing a road outside her school in July 2023 Credit: 5 The speeding driver responsible for her death, Qadeer Hussain, has been sentenced to eight years in jail Credit: 5 Alice was a 'beautiful soul', her dad said Credit: SWNS Qadeer Hussain, 55, who pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison on Friday. He has also been banned from driving for 10 years and two months, after which he can only drive again following an extended re-test. Today, Bradford Crown Court heard that cars had been stopped in the left lane at a red light for seven seconds when the Vauxhall Corsa driver crashed into the schoolgirl in the right-hand lane. The tragedy unfolded on the morning of July 8, 2023. Advertisement Prosecutor Jonathan Gibson said drivers would have had an "uninhibited view" of the puffin crossing's traffic lights on the King's Cross Street dual carriageway. Prosecutors said Hussain deliberately ran the red light, thinking no one was crossing, as his view was blocked by vehicles stopped in the left-hand lane. Alice's mum Clare O'Neill said she felt "hate" for the driver with "every cell" of her body and "every breath". She said: "I feel blinding, chest-crushing, white-hot rage at you, unlike any emotion I've ever felt before. She wasn't in the wrong place at the wrong time, you were. Advertisement "You knew it all along, I'm helpless to express my anger that you stole everything from her." O'Neill said she could not "adequately describe what it's like to have one's child obliterated". Three girls killed in Southport stabbing named as tributes paid to Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Aguiar She explained: "Every day there is an empty space right next to me, where she should be standing. "I'm missing her ideas, her voice, everything about her, with real pain. Advertisement "I have a phantom limb - you severed her from me. "The wound is still healing, I will never be whole again." O'Neill said the event had been "imprinted" on Alice's younger brother's memory. She recalled him asking someone to collect his sister's shoes from the road, which had been thrown from her during the crash, while his mum remained frozen in panic. Advertisement Alice's dad, Chris Williams, described his daughter as a "beautiful soul". Williams said Alice's death had destroyed his wife's mental health and left him feeling "numb" for years since. He added: "Alice and hundreds like her every year shouldn't have to die because of drivers who don't realise or don't care about the consequences of their actions." In a statement read out to the court, Alice's younger brother said: "She was really good at Minecraft. My mum is not at all good at Minecraft. Advertisement "I think Qadeer Hussain is bad. If drivers speed they're automatically bad guys because they know they shouldn't do it. "It's too bad for me to think about. It makes me feel very sad. I don't trust drivers and I don't like cars going too fast. "I want a house with four people in, not three. If we have three, we always have a spare room and a spare chair. "My mum cries a lot, and my dad doesn't cry a lot but he's very sad. I miss having a young person in my house." Advertisement Prosecutors said Alice was thrown into the air and towards the pavement following the crash, which was seen by several eyewitnesses. Forensic analysis of video footage revealed the dangerous driver was travelling at an average speed of 49mph in a 30mph zone, even accelerating after the pedestrian crossing lights turned red. Hussain's brake lights only came on 46 feet before the point of impact, a distance insufficient to stop, even if he had been driving at the speed limit, the court heard. Prosecutor James Lake said: "It's clear the defendant was reacting to Alice's presence in the road, not to the fact that the traffic lights were red. I want to make that absolutely clear." Advertisement Alice was formally declared dead two days later, on July 10, 2023, with forensic pathologists confirming she died from severe blunt force head injuries to both her front and back left side. Her organs were later donated, resulting in four successful transplants. Hussain was arrested at the scene. During a police interview in 2024, he claimed that he had been telling his children off about the car's Bluetooth stereo system and thought he was driving between 25 to 35mph. Advertisement He insisted that there was "nothing wrong with his driving." He also said that the lights were still changing to red when Alice "came towards him". However, prosecutor James Lake added that a subsequent investigation of dashcam and CCTV footage revealed Hussain's account was "completely inaccurate". Michael Greenhalgh, defending Hussain, noted his lack of a previous criminal record and his guilty plea at the earliest opportunity. Advertisement He said: "English is not his first language, it's difficult for him to verbalise his remorse without the use of an interpreter, but as someone with a family of his own he's able to understand to a degree what the kind of loss that Alice's family sustained actually means." Greenhalgh also pointed out that Hussain's comments about his driving were not pursued in court. Judge Jonathan Gibson said no sentence "could ever make up for the overwhelming loss of Alice to her family and those who knew her." He thanked another driver, Joshua Helliwell, who had provided medical assistance to Alice before the ambulance arrived. Advertisement Before sentencing, the judge said: "Alice was nine years old in July 2023, she was a bright, much-loved and loving child. "The loss to her mother, father and younger brother together with every member of her wider family and circle of friends has been huge and overwhelming. "It is impossible to find words to express the enormity of their loss. Reading and hearing the victim personal statements in this case has made that clear. "The consequences of what happened that day go far beyond what happened to Alice herself, which was catastrophic in itself and effect the family and will do so for the rest of their lives." Advertisement He added: "Alice as a pedestrian is a vulnerable road user. You wrongly placed the blame on Alice for running into the road and into your path in your police interviews. "She did nothing wrong, as I have already said, she, her mother and younger brother, crossed the road entirely appropriately." 5 Alice and her family 'crossed the road entirely appropriately,' the judge ruled Credit: MEN Media 5 'She was a bright, much-loved and loving child,' added the judge Credit: MEN Media
