Somaiya Begum: Uncle who murdered university student niece, 20, in her Yorkshire home is jailed for 30 years

Mohammed Taroos Khan, 53, killed Somaiya Begum following a long-running family feud that began when the Leeds Beckett University biomedical science student refused to marry a cousin in Pakistan when she was 16.

A Forced Marriage Protection Order was imposed, and she moved out of her father’s home and in with his elderly mother and another one of his brothers.

Today Khan appeared at Bradford Crown Court for sentencing after a jury found him guilty of Somaiya’s murder at trial.

He had denied the charge, but admitted perverting the course of justice in relation to hiding her body and attempting to destroy her mobile phone, blaming her death on others.

The court heard that Khan had a previous conviction for punching his own daughter and holding a knife to her throat in a dispute over her lifestyle, and a restraining order had been imposed to prevent contact with his mother.

Yet Judge Neil Garnham KC rejected the prosecution’s argument that Somaiya’s murder was an ‘honour’ killing, saying there was no evidence of any specific motive of Khan’s or of wider family agreement to harm her.

Somaiya, who worked as a carer while studying for her degree, was last seen at the house on Binnie Street in Barkerend on June 25 last year, but disappeared after her uncle arrived to visit the property and there was no more activity from her mobile phone.

Evidence against Khan include two verbal altercations being captured on CCTV and searches on his phone for rubble bags from B&Q. He was also caught on security cameras backing his car up to a container at Carter Gate Works and locking it.

Police found Somaiya’s body in a small patch of undergrowth on Fitzwilliam Street on July 6, close to a catering business where Khan had been doing maintenance work, and more CCTV showed him parking near a gap in the wall, dragging a heavy item from his car and disposing of it.

A postmortem found that Somaiya’s lung had been punctured by an 11cm metal spike that matched a tool found at Carter Gate Works.

The court was told Khan had eight previous convictions, including the battery of his daughter in 2016, and others for dishonesty.

Sentencing him to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years for murder plus an additional five-year term for perverting the course of justice, Judge Garnham said: “Somaiya’s father Yaseen had made it clear he wished her to marry her cousin. She was an intelligent, spirited and courageous young woman who went to the authorities for help, and in 2020 an order was imposed to protect her. After moving in with her grandmother and uncle Dawood, she found freedom and the chance to live her own life.

"There is no account of precisely what happened in that house because you chose not to give evidence, but you murdered your niece and the killing occurred in the living room. You stabbed her in the back and stored her body overnight in your shipping container.

"It is not possible to identify a motive for this dreadful attack. You were said not to share Yaseen’s views about the role of women, and I consider it pure speculation that it was part of a family agreement. I reject the suggestion that I treat this as an honour killing.”

Judge Garnham added that he wished to commend the Khan and Begum families for the ‘restraint and self-control’ they had shown during the trial, in which several relatives were called as witnesses.

Detective Superintendent Marc Bowes from West Yorkshire Police said: “Somaiya was a bright, young woman who was studying to get a degree, had a part time job to support herself and was happy and content with home life.

“She had her whole life ahead of her and it was cruelly cut short by her uncle, someone who is meant to love, care and protect her.

“Khan subjected Somaiya to a horrendous attack for reasons only known to him.

“Khan went to extreme lengths to cover up his crime, he dumped her body in wasteland showing complete disregard and disrespect for human life, with the hope that her body would never be found.

“Somaiya will never get the life she was meant to lead; Khan stole that life and he will now be spending a significant time in prison for his violent actions.

“Although this conviction and sentence will never bring Somaiya back, I hope that it gives her friends and family some comfort in knowing they have got justice for her.”