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Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
Wannabe influencer who slit wife's throat as she pushed their son's pram was freed to kill by courts months earlier - despite allegedly holding a knife to her throat during jealous rage
A jealous husband who stabbed his wife to death as she pushed their baby in a pram was freed to kill by a court months earlier, the Mail can reveal. Habibur Masum, 26, was yesterday found guilty of murdering wife Kulsuma Akter after she left a women's refuge where she had tried to escape his violent behaviour. But Ms Akter's fate was sealed after controlling Masum, originally from Bangladesh, was allowed back on the streets after allegedly holding a knife to her throat in a jealous rage. Despite a Crown Prosecution Service lawyer urging magistrates to keep him behind bars, he was granted bail on condition that he stayed away from Ms Akter and their Oldham home. Fearing for her life, the mother and her baby were given sanctuary at a refuge in a secret location. But wannabe influencer Masum – who had warned Ms Akter, 'I am going to murder you, and the police will be taking me' – used his technological savvy to track her down. He took advantage of her failure to switch off the location on her Snapchat account to establish she was living in Bradford. He was spotted on CCTV 'loitering, watching and waiting' near the refuge in the days leading up to the fatal attack, jurors heard. Masum even sent Ms Akter a picture of the front of the building, with a message that said: 'I know that you are living in this place. I knew from the first day you moved here.' After Masum threatened to kill her family members, Ms Akter again reported him to the police, and arrangements were put in place to rehouse her. After taunting her that he had found the refuge, Masum laid a false trail to trick her into believing he was on holiday in Spain. Thinking it was safe to take their son out among the Saturday afternoon shoppers on April 6 last year, Ms Akter – who was due to be rehomed two days later – was instead confronted by Masum. In a brazen daylight attack of barbaric ferocity, he repeatedly plunged the blade into his screaming partner, stabbing her more than 25 times before slitting her throat. After the 'cold-blooded' killing, Masum was captured on CCTV grinning as he boarded a bus to make his escape, having left his wife for dead and abandoning their baby in the street. Police launched a manhunt and Masum – who had shaved off his beard – was traced two days later after seeking treatment for 'lockjaw' 170 miles away at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire. Masum, 26, pleaded guilty to his wife's manslaughter and possession of a bladed article but denied murder on the grounds he had lost control. But yesterday a jury at Bradford Crown Court convicted him after deliberating for less than six hours. Masum tracked down his estranged wife Kulsuma before he launched 'ferocious' and lethal knife attack as she pushed their son in his pram Masum – who was also found guilty of stalking, assault and threats to kill – wiped away tears in the dock. Despite two police forces being made aware of the threats Ms Akter had been receiving, a probe by the Independent Office for Police Conduct found there had been no breach of professional standards. But campaigners said her brutal killing could have been prevented, saying the latest example of a woman murdered by her abusive partner once again underlined the need for change. 'Her death was preventable, and the loss of Kulsuma is a stark reminder of the deadly consequences of honour-based abuse and coercive control,' a spokesman for the Karma Nirvana charity said. 'We must do more to protect women like her.' Bradford West Labour MP Naz Shah said violence against women was 'a cancer that needs eradicating'. 'Kulsuma came to Bradford trying to find safety and her attacker found her,' she told the BBC. 'To keep women safe we need to change the culture of misogyny and domestic violence.' More than a year before murdering Ms Akter, Masum told a doctor he 'felt like he would kill her'. He stopped his wife from wearing make-up and would check her phone to see who she had been talking to, relatives said. Masum even stopped her drinking tea, because he didn't like the drink. Police officers in white forensics gear stand within a cordon at the scene of the stabbing in Bradford Her cousin Aftab Miah told the Mail that Ms Akter – the youngest of five siblings – was 'a lovely girl and had a great personality. She was always smiling and liked to make people laugh'. Her killing has left her grieving family in Bangladesh 'devastated' and struggling to comprehend how she had been taken from them in such brutal fashion halfway around the world. Masum will be sentenced next month.
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- The Irish Sun
‘Hitman' accused of murdering Lyons kingpins has drug driving charge dropped
PROSECUTORS dropped drug driving and speeding charges against the alleged hitman accused of murdering two Scots gangsters. Law chiefs ditched proceedings against Michael Riley, 44, after he was nicked and made the subject of an extradition bid by Spanish authorities. 3 Murdered Lyons gnag duo Eddie Lyons Jnr, left, and Ross Monaghan 3 The moment a gunman stormed the pub in Fuengirola was caught on CCTV 3 The bar in Spain where the Scots gangland figures were shot dead on May 31 Riley, of Huyton, Liverpool , was due to appear at North Wales Magistrates Court tomorrow in connection with the alleged driving offences. But the Crown Prosecution Service (SPS) decided to discontinue the case on Tuesday, June 17, four days after Riley was arrested in Liverpool. A court service spokeswoman confirmed a 'notice to withdraw' the charges was lodged and rubber-stamped last week. We told how Riley plans to fight extradition over the murders of Ross Monaghan, 43, and Eddie Lyons Jnr, 46, in Fuengirola on May 31. Cops in Spain issued an international arrest warrant for the suspect who was then nabbed by Merseyside police on June 13 and remanded in custody after being deemed a flight risk. He appeared at the London court via videolink from HMP Wandsworth on Thursday but the hearing was halted due to technical difficulties. Judge John Bristow told him: 'You have not consented to your extradition, so there is going to be a hearing on October 9. As he was being led away, Riley shouted at someone in the public gallery: 'Stop making funny faces. Stop looking at me.' Most read in The Scottish Sun He is accused of gunning down two Lyons gang bosses. We told how the doomed pair were drinking in Monaghans bar after watching the Champions League final 'Hitman' accused of murdering gang kingpins Ross Monaghan & Eddie Lyons Junior in Spain will fight extradition The brazen killings sparked an international manhunt that ended with Riley's arrest at an address in Liverpool two weeks later. We also told how cops in Spain and Scotland have given conflicting information about who is believed to have ordered the hit. Three days after the horror , Police Scotland stated they had "no intelligence" to suggest they were linked to the ongoing gangland turf war here. But Spanish counterparts blamed the Daniel crime clan bitter rivals of the Lyons at a press conference in Malaga this week. A source claims a captured mobile phone holds the key to proving the culprits. Insiders allege it has data linking Riley to Daniel hoods. A gangland source said: "A phone in a crime like this is gold-dust to investigators. It appears that Police Scotland were not made aware of this discovery and are out the loop. It's not a good look for them."
The Sun
2 days ago
- The Sun
How many chances does Oisin Murphy need? The drink driving charge is the latest bleak chapter in a disheartening story
HOW many chances does Oisin Murphy need? Of course, I must caveat this entire column by saying he has not been found guilty, or admitted guilt, to the Thames Valley Police charges of drink driving and failing to provide a roadside breath test. 1 He will appear in court next week, and if he does plead guilty he will lose his drivers' licence and could, in theory, face more serious punishment. We will have to wait and see how it plays out. But his career has been chequered, to say the least. Let's first consider the positives — Murphy is a tremendous talent. He was one of those jockeys who always looked destined for the top while he was an apprentice, and he shot to prominence with a four-timer on Ayr Gold Cup day as an 18-year-old. He was given the opportunities and took them, ending up as stable No1 to Andrew Balding and as retained jock for Qatar Racing. Murphy, 29, is aware of his obligations as one of our leading jockeys to engage with the public, and he does it very well on social media. His ability was on full show at Royal Ascot, when he rode five winners and was especially lethal over the straight track. But it was during the Royal meeting that a letter dropped onto his doormat from the Crown Prosecution Service saying they were charging him, and so began the latest bleak chapter of one of racing's most disheartening storylines. It is quite clear there is another — how can I put it — less polished side to Murphy than the one you see in public. I've experienced it first hand over the years. Of course it is sad to see a person struggle with an addiction to alcohol — I know what it's like to battle addiction — but if it transpires he had been drinking and got behind the wheel of a car, it's hard to comprehend. Murphy needs help as he quite clearly isn't ready to help himself. He has the world at his feet, but it appears he can't stop pushing the self-destruct button. And too many people around him have covered for him and brushed his issues under the carpet. And they keep surfacing again and again. First, he was banned for three months in 2020 for testing positive for cocaine. He said he was contaminated after having sex with a girl who had taken the drug, so he was given a lenient sentence. Then issues with the bottle began to surface. He failed multiple breath tests and — as exclusively revealed in Sunracing on 2021 Qipco Champions' Day — was involved in an ugly scrap outside a boozer in Newmarket. This was after he had completely disregarded Covid-19 regulations to travel to Mykonos, Greece, in the September of 2020, which, at that time, was on the government's 'red list'. He lied to the BHA about where he had been, returned to the UK and went straight back into the weighing room without isolating himself, potentially putting his colleagues at risk of infection. He was banned for 14 months, during which time he did a lot of media work and spoke about his problems with drink, how he had started attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and would never touch the stuff again. So when he was re-granted his licence, the BHA attached strict conditions, including increased breath testing and a requirement for Murphy 'to remain sober'. After all, it was not that long ago that Graham Gibbons was blamed for a pile-up at Kempton which left Freddie Tylicki in a wheelchair, and in court it was alleged his breath smelled of alcohol on the day. In racing, riding while even slightly impaired is incredibly dangerous. More recently, eyebrows were raised when Murphy failed to turn up at Kempton Park for scheduled alcohol breath testing because, allegedly, he was suffering from especially painful haemorrhoids which required A&E attention. He was back in the saddle shortly after and, as far as I'm aware, the old Chalfont St Giles haven't bothered him to the same extent before or since the missed test. And now he has been involved in a car crash while allegedly over the limit with a passenger in the car — there has been a theme of apparent disregard for the safety of others which is unacceptable. Is it just 'demons'? Or, which is an uncomfortable question to pose, does he just not care? If he is found or pleads guilty on Thursday, the BHA will have no option but to immediately suspend his riding licence in my view. Every time Murphy has done something wrong, his actions have been excused one way or another. How many more chances does he need?
The Independent
3 days ago
- The Independent
Killer nurse jailed for murder of elderly patients loses appeal
A nurse jailed for life for the murders of four elderly patients and the attempted murder of a fifth has had his appeals against conviction dismissed by the Court of Appeal. Colin Campbell, formerly known as Colin Norris, was handed a life sentence in 2008 after being found guilty of killing Doris Ludlam, Bridget Bourke, Irene Crookes, and Ethel Hall. He was also convicted of attempting to murder a fifth patient. The victims were inpatients on orthopaedic wards where Campbell worked in Leeds in 2002. Their deaths were attributed to severe, unexplained hypoglycaemia. Campbell denied any wrongdoing and said he did nothing to cause hypoglycaemia in any of the patients. His case was referred to the Court of Appeal in London by the Criminal Cases Review Commission in 2021, who said previously that the prosecution relied on 'wholly circumstantial' evidence. In a 14-day hearing earlier this year, Mr Campbell's lawyers argued that new expert knowledge meant the convictions were now unsafe while lawyers for the Crown Prosecution Service said much of the same evidence presented was heard by the jury at trial. In a ruling on Thursday judges dismissed his appeals. In their judgment, Lady Justice Macur, Mr Justice Picken and Sir Stephen Irwin, said: 'We have no doubt about the safety of any of the five convictions. The appeals are dismissed.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Nurse jailed for murder of elderly patients loses conviction appeals
A nurse who was jailed for life for the murders of four elderly patients and attempting to murder a fifth has lost appeals against his convictions at the Court of Appeal. Colin Campbell, formerly known as Colin Norris, was found guilty in 2008 of killing Doris Ludlam, Bridget Bourke, Irene Crookes and Ethel Hall. They were inpatients on orthopaedic wards where Campbell worked in Leeds in 2002 before they died, and had developed severe, unexplained hypoglycaemia. Campbell denied any wrongdoing and said he did nothing to cause hypoglycaemia in any of the patients. His case was referred to the Court of Appeal in London by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) in 2021, which said previously that the prosecution relied on 'wholly circumstantial' evidence. In a 14-day hearing earlier this year, Campbell's lawyers argued new expert knowledge meant the convictions were now unsafe while lawyers for the Crown Prosecution Service said much of the same evidence presented was heard by the jury at trial. In a ruling on Thursday, judges dismissed his appeals. In their judgment, Lady Justice Macur, Mr Justice Picken and Sir Stephen Irwin said: 'We have no doubt about the safety of any of the five convictions. The appeals are dismissed.' Campbell was convicted in 2008 after a five-month trial at Newcastle Crown Court, during which time a total of 20 experts gave evidence. The nurse unsuccessfully appealed against his conviction in 2009 and applied to the CCRC in 2011. Michael Mansfield KC, for Campbell, told an appeal hearing earlier this year the jury had asked whether there were other cases of patients suffering from 'sudden and profound' hypoglycaemia in any of the Leeds teaching hospitals after Campbell stopped working. Four such cases had since been identified, Mr Mansfield told the court, with the deaths recorded between January 2003 and August 2005. The barrister also noted the 'remarkably similar' ages of all nine cases, with the patients being between 78 and 93, but this 'was not discussed' at the trial. But Lady Justice Macur, Mr Justice Picken and Sir Stephen Irwin said these cases did not help Campbell's appeals. They said in their judgment: 'On our own analysis, the 'extra' cases serve to underline rather than undermine this aspect of the phenomena that are said to be distinctive in those cases of administration of exogenous insulin.' James Curtis KC, for the CPS, said during the appeal hearings that there was 'very little evidence of any sudden and severe hypoglycaemia when it is caused naturally' and 'seemingly no evidence' of this in the patients Campbell was convicted of killing. He said the medical literature shows that sudden and unexpected severe hypoglycaemia 'remains rare', while the possibility of dying by natural causes was 'fully explored' at trial.
