Husband denies murder after knifing wife 19 times

VICTIM . . . Farkhanda Younis

AN illegal immigrant stabbed his wife 19 times in the neck in “a ferocious and sustained attack” while her six-year-old son slept next door, a court has been told.

Jahangir Nazar killed mum-of-two Farkhanda Younis with such brutality the blade of the knife broke during the attack at their home in Bamford Street, Chadderton last April.

Nazar had originally claimed cuts to his hand had been sustained after Farkhanda - known to friends as Jabeen - had slammed a door on him while he was holding a glass. :

Later he admitted the injury was caused when his hand slipped over the blade of the still-missing knife during the ferocious attack - some of the wounds from which left Jabeen paralysed and unable to defend herself.

Jabeen’s body was found the following morning. Her son called police when he couldn’t wake her. Officers broke down the door and found her body under a duvet.

John Jones QC, prosecuting, said Nazar’s claims to have been in a diminished state of mind were inconsistent with his actions following the attack.

After the killing Nazar locked the bedroom door and ran off, disposing of a bloodied sock down a drain on the way. He was arrested at Newcastle train station four days later, carrying a suitcase filled with clothes and £1,100 in cash. He was believed to be fleeing the country.

Mr Jones added: “The ability of Nazar to concoct so elaborate a story and facilitate his escape demonstrate the actions of a man not overwrought by a medical condition. These are the actions of a man who knows what he’s done, appreciates the significance and is planning his escape.”

At Manchester Crown Court yesterday Nazar, who had entered the UK illegally, pleaded guilty to manslaughter but not guilty to murder due to his diminished state of mind.

The court heard how their relationship deteriorated after a traditional Muslim Nikah wedding ceremony in the summer of 2012. Nazar resented her successful, westernised lifestyle and considered her “promiscuous”. Jabeen went to nightclubs, drank alcohol, had boyfriends and maintained a sexual relationship with OIdham taxi driver Ansar Shah until the night before her death. The pair’s relationship had continued after Jabeen married Nazar.

Jabeen’s sister, Nassem Rashid, told the court that her sister believed Nazar had wanted the marriage and family to boost his chances of remaining in the UK permanently after being given special discretionary permission to remain until this year.

The court heard of a history of bullying and abuse by the “controlling and possessive” Nazar.

Mr Jones added: “This was a ferocious and sustained attack by a man fearful of deportation, jealous of other men, resentful of the promiscuity of his wife or perhaps for some other reason not known to us that he has not cared to explain.”

The trial continues.