A man who killed his niece after she refused to marry a man in Pakistan has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for her murder.
Mohammed Taroos Khan killed 20-year-old Somaiya Begum in an attack at her home in Bradford, West Yorkshire, on 25 June last year. He then dumped her body on waste ground, where it was found decomposed 11 days later.
Begum, described by the judge as “an intelligent young woman of real spirit and courage” was a university student and carer.
She had been living at the house with another of her uncles and her grandmother under the terms of a forced marriage protection order, following attempts by her father to force her to marry a cousin in Pakistan “by threat of violence”, a jury heard.
Violent abuser Khan was forbidden to go to the house by a restraining order, which was taken out after a conviction of battery on his daughter, in which he threatened her with a knife. The order covered his daughter, his mother and the address where Begum lived, which is where Khan’s daughter had previously lived.
Begum had approached authorities in Bradford after she was promised to someone against her wishes at the age of 16.
However, sentencing Khan, 53, to life in prison on Wednesday, Mr Justice Garnham said: “It is not possible to identify a motive for this dreadful attack by you on an innocent young woman.”
He added: “Moreover, it is pure speculation to consider whether this murder was part of some appalling family agreement.”
He told Bradford crown court: “All that matters for present purposes is that the jury have found you guilty of the heinous crime of murder.
“I decline to speculate on your motive and I reject the prosecution’s suggestion that I should treat this as any form of so-called honour killing.”
Garnham chastised Khan for the “unlawful, disrespectful disposal of Somaiya’s body”, one of the serious aggravating factors of the sentence, which was increased from a starting point of 15 years.
Khan had stored Begum’s body in a shipping container overnight, before driving around to find somewhere to dump it.
The judge said: “You showed absolutely no respect for the dead body of your niece in the way you dumped it unceremoniously, wrapped in carpet and covered in scrap material, amongst rubbish on waste ground. You left it there to rot in the summer heat and, when it was found, Somaiya’s face had been eaten away by maggots.”
Passing the sentence, he told Khan, who was found guilty of murder on Tuesday: “You are going to be an old man by the time you are eligible for parole.”
In a victim impact statement, Begum’s uncle Dawood Khan, who she had been living with, described her as “the light of my life”.
The senior investigating officer, Det Supt Marc Bowes, 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 for and protect her.”
Khan was also sentenced to a jail term of five years for perverting the course of justice, to be served concurrently.
Khan attempted to speak to the judge after he was sent down but was told he was not allowed.
