A man and his pregnant wife that he is accused of murdering in Edinburgh were seen walking arm-in-arm to the landmark hill where she later died, a court heard.
Kashif Anwar, 29, is accused of murdering Fawziyah Javed, 31, in September 2021 by pushing her from Arthur’s Seat, causing her multiple blunt force injuries and ultimately her death, and that of her unborn child. He denies the charge.
On Tuesday, at the High Court in Edinburgh, Anwar, from Leeds, was acquitted of a second charge of behaving in a threatening and abusive way towards his wife at a hotel in Edinburgh the day before the alleged murder.
Detective Constable Emma Todd, a CCTV coordinator at Police Scotland, was taken through security camera footage from the city centre during the day, including the couple’s walk to Holyrood Park, where Arthur’s Seat is.
They were arm in arm for most of the way— Dc Emma Todd
The 42-year-old said: “They were arm-in-arm for most of the way.”
They were seen walking from Wagamama in St Andrew’s Square, through Waverley Railway station, down Canongate and then past the Scottish Parliament which is next to the park.
Ian Duguid KC, defending Anwar, told the jury: “As they walk down St Andrew Street, she has her arm through his arm.”
He went on to add that from the exit to the restaurant, and almost all the way to the entrance of the park, they were “closely in each other’s company, physically close to each other”.
Mr Duguid said with the exception of a short period, as they were walking past the boarded Canongate entrance to the Scottish Parliament, they were “arm-in-arm”.
Police Sergeant Alastair Paisley, 41, a crime scene manager at the site of the incident, also gave evidence on the fifth day of the trial.
He told the court he estimated Ms Javed had fallen “between 40 and 50ft”.
Consultant forensic pathologist Dr Ralph Bouhaidar, told the court in evidence on Tuesday that Ms Javed died from complications of multiple injuries and a fall from height.
He detailed her injuries to the jury with the assistance of a three-dimensional model, which showed the areas of her body which were injured in the fall.
Sabeen Rashid, 43, a major crime analyst, also gave evidence, going through a 97-page telecoms report with advocate depute Alex Prentice KC.
Pictures from Arthur’s Seat were shown, timed between about 8.06pm and 8.30pm taken on the phone attributed to Ms Javed, which included selfies of herself and her husband.
The trial, before Lord Beckett, continues.
