Woman in 1997 murder probe
Reporter: ROBBIE MacDONALD
Date published: 25 October 2013
AN Oldham woman has been charged with murdering two children in a house fire more than 16 years ago.
Fiaz Munshi (38), of Manley Road, was arrested over an arson attack in Oxford in1997.
The blaze killed Anum Khan (8) and her brother Majid (15), in Magdalen Road, Cowley, Oxford, in August that year.
Five men were jailed for life for murder in 1998. The trial was told Munshi had left the UK for Pakistan. Ten people have been convicted of crimes in connection with the case.
Jurors could not reach a decision on Munshi’s sister, Riaz, formerly of Oxford, during the original trial. She was later convicted of manslaughter and jailed for 12 years.
After her arrest in Oldham this week, Fiaz Munshi was charged at Oxford Magistrates’ Court yesterday, and is due to appear at Oxford Crown Court on Monday.
The Khans’ terrace house was set alight shortly after 3am on Tuesday, August 26, 1997. The killers squirted petrol through the letterbox before lighting a match and posting it through.
Father Mohammed Khan was working a nightshift while his wife, four of their daughters, son Majid, and six-year-old grandson were at home.
Anum could not escape the fire and died from smoke inhalation. She was found by a bedroom window.
Her brother Majid jumped from a first-floor window to escape but died two days later from severe burns, smoke inhalation and a head injury.
A two-month trial at Birmingham Crown Court in 1998 saw a jury convict five men for the murders.
The case heard the fire was set in a revenge attack amid a feud. Six people were charged and denied the murders — Alan Swanton and Thomas Liedl, brothers Mohammed and Haq Nawaz, their cousin Haroon Sharif, and Fiaz Munshi’s sister Riaz.
The jury found the blaze was started by Swanton and Liedl on the orders of the Nawaz brothers and Sharif. All five were given life sentences.
In 2007, a High Court judge ruled Liedl, Swanton, and the Nawaz brothers, must serve a total of at least 69 years before they can seek parole.
The Ministry of Justice last night said it would not confirm if the prisoners had been released.
Sharif’s mother, Parveen, and three relatives, Sadaf, Asfa and Saimah Sharif, were all found guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice for providing an alibi for him.
Munshi spoke in court only to confirm her name and date of birth. She was remanded in custody.
