A man accused of murdering his pregnant wife by pushing her from an Edinburgh landmark was seen “pulling” her about in the months leading up to her death, a court has heard.
Kashif Anwar, 29, is accused of murdering Fawziyah Javed, 31, in September 2021, by pushing her from the 823ft high hill, Arthur’s Seat, causing fatal injury to her and her unborn child.
Anwar denies all the charges against him, including one of acting in a threatening and abusive way towards his wife at a hotel in Edinburgh the day before the alleged murder.
Witness Nicola Lilly, 44, told the trial at the High Court in Edinburgh on Monday she had seen an incident in Pudsey, Leeds, on August 26 2021.
Appearing remotely from the West Yorkshire city, she and the jury were shown security camera footage of two people in which it appeared as if a man was blocking the path of Ms Javed.
Ms Lilly told the trial: “I just knew something wasn’t right. She was just trying to get away from him and (he) was being, sort of, aggressive towards her.”
The witness told the trial she saw the alleged murder victim being “pulled about”, and that she had become concerned for her.
She later found Ms Javed speaking to another woman, and Ms Lilly gave the alleged victim her telephone number.
The court was told that Ms Javed appeared “very upset and frightened”, and identified the man to Ms Lilly as her husband.
Ms Lilly said a car came past and Ms Javed said: “It’s my father-in-law.”
The witness continued: “She got really scared, then she said, ‘Please tell them what he’s just been like with me, they won’t believe me’.”
Ms Javed eventually got into the car, the court was told, and Ms Lilly decided to follow the vehicle which went to Galloway Lane, Pudsey, where Ms Javed lived.
The trial, before Lord Beckett, continues.
