An abusive man has been jailed for over 20 years after being found guilty of killing his wife and unborn child.
Kashif Anwar, 29, from Leeds pushed his pregnant wife off an Edinburgh landmark to her death just days before she was set to leave him. 31-year-old Fawziyah Javed, about 17 weeks pregnant when she was pushed from Arthur’s Seat.
Police Constable Rhiannon Clutton, 35, was told by Ms Javed that her husband did it because she "told him I wanted to end (the marriage)". Ms Javed used her dying words to reveal it was her abusive husband who caused her to fall about 50ft before her body came to a rest.
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Daniyah Rafique, 24, managed to reach the dying employment lawyer on the side of the hill, where she was told: "Don’t let my husband near me, he pushed me."
Kashif Anwar was found guilty of the September 2021 murder of Fawziyah Javed, 31, and that of her unborn child, after a six-day trial at the High Court in Edinburgh. Judge Lord Beckett imposed a mandatory life sentence on Anwar with an imprisonment period of a minimum of 20 years.
He told Anwar: "You have been found guilty of murdering Fawziyah Javed who was a very special person. She was your pregnant wife and you also caused the death of your unborn child."
He told the killer that his victim was willing to trust that he would keep her safe when they went up Arthur’s Seat, but that he pushed her off when nobody else was around. The judge said Ms Javed’s mother, Yasmin Javed, had described her as a "beautiful soul inside and out".
In a statement, Ms Javed’s mother said: "There are just no words to describe the depth of pain and grief. There’s no words in the English dictionary that go deep enough."
As Anwar was handcuffed and taken to the cells, a family member of Ms Javed shouted "die you b*****" at him. Jurors were visibly upset after the result, some crying, and the judge thanked them for the "admirable way" they performed their duties.
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