Dad who ‘ruled family like a medieval baron’ strangled daughter-in-law to death

Nadeem Begum, 53, strangled his daughter-in-law 24-year-old Mashal Ilyas to death at their shared home in Atherton in October last year and claimed she had “fallen down the stairs.”

Brought before Manchester Crown Court after being convicted of her murder, Begum listened on in silence as Judge Elizabeth Nicholls blasted his attitude towards women and his family.

She said: “You ruled your family, and I suspect particularly the women, like a medieval baron ruled his fiefdom.”

She added: “You are clearly an egotistical and domineering man and to that we can now add the description of murderer and coward.”

The case was heard at Manchester Crown Court (Image: Anthony Moss) Judge Nicholls said that Begum expected his 24-year-old daughter-in-law “to cook, to clean, to serve you” and that Ms Ilyas regarded him as a “king and executioner.”

But she said that despite his efforts to silence Ms Ilyas by strangling her, her truth has “shone through” and brought him to the dock to face justice.

Earlier in the hearing a heartrending victim impact statement from Ms Ilyas’s mother Rahana read by prosecutor Mark Rhind KC laid bare the devastation caused by the murder of her daughter.

Reading the statement, Mr Rhind said: “She was a young woman with her whole life ahead of her.”

Her statement said how Ms Ilyas’s marriage to husband Gulrez had been a “happy and special day” after the marriage was arranged between the two families.

She described her daughter as a kind and intelligent young woman who had “taught Gulrez how to laugh” and said that teachers still remember her from her time at school, where she had been a top pupil.

Ms Ilyas had come from Pakistan to England after being chosen for an arranged marriage, settling at the Begum family home on Oxford Road, Atherton.

But her mother said that father-in-law Begum, who watched silently from the dock, did not seem to want either Ms Ilyas or his own son to be happy.

After killing Ms Ilyas on October 9 last year, Begum claimed that she had died after falling down the stairs, delivering the news to his victim’s bereaved mother “without any feelings or emotion.”

Her statement, read by Mr Rhind said: “As a Muslim, we are called to account for our actions, I hope Nadeem will be called as well, but I want justice in this world.”

Mr Rhind told the court how for some time before her death Ms Ilyas had become “increasingly unhappy with her role at the house and with the behaviour of Nadeem Begum towards her.”

Tensions had arisen over Begum’s “traditional” expectations of the role he expected Ms Ilyas to play in the family.

Despite his denials, Begum was arrested and charged with murder after pathologists found bruising to her neck that seemed to point to her having been strangled.

Mr Rhind said that Begum appeared to have moved Ms Ilyas body to the bottom of the stairs before claiming she had fallen down them.

He claimed to paramedics that he had been sleeping upstairs at the time and not seen or heard anything.

Begum continued his denials when brought before the court but was convicted by a jury after a trial earlier this month.

Mr Rhind told the court that Begum, of Oxford Road, Atherton, had no previous convictions but had a “history of anger issues.”

Ayaz Qazi KC, defending, accepted that Begum had shown no remorse for his actions and continued his denials.

He also accepted that “one may feel in an extended family network the head of the household holds extra responsibility”.

But Mr Qazi reminded the court that Begum was a man of previous good character and said that his murder of Ms Ilyas had not been “pre-meditated.”

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Judge Elizabeth Nicholls sentenced Begum to life in prison with a minimum term of 18 years.

She said she hoped that one day the convicted murderer would “gain the courage” to give Ms Ilyas’s family the answers they needed, and Begum went silently to the cells.

Judge Nicholls closed by paying tribute to the “dignity” of Ms Ilyas’s bereaved mother and husband and offered her condolences to them.

She also paid tribute to the police, emergency services and pathologists who had helped bring Begum to justice.

Mr Rhind added that the roles of police officers Jackie Wilkins and Sharon Evans were particularly praiseworthy.

Speaking after the hearing Duncan Thorpe, Senior Investigating Officer from GMP’s Major Incident Support Unit, said: “Firstly, our thoughts as an investigation team are still with Mashal’s loved ones at what is a very emotional and difficult time for them.

“Since we became aware of the incident, we explored all available lines of investigation to get to the truth – that Nadeem Begum had attacked and strangled Mashal.

“This was a brutal and unprovoked attack on a young woman who had come to the UK to start a new life.

“Begum now has to face the consequences; we are pleased we have been able to bring justice and some form of closure for the family.”

Source – INDIA TV