Syed Ahmad, 45, pleaded guilty to murdering his wife Anam Rafay after a frenzied knife attack at their home in Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, on the morning of January 27 this year.
A post-mortem examination revealed that Mrs Rafay suffered 40 stab wounds to her neck, body, arms and legs, and died as a result of a cardiac arrest.
Ahmad initially denied murder during his trial at Manchester Crown Court, claiming he did not intend to kill her and was suffering from 'abnormal mental functioning'. He told the court he 'heard a voice which told him his wife was going to smash his head in' and asserted he acted in self-defence. After two weeks of evidence, he changed his plea to guilty and is due to be sentenced on Friday, July 31.
Background to the marriage
Prosecutor Bill Baker KC said Ahmad and Mrs Rafay were married in an arranged marriage in Pakistan in 2005, when she was 16 and he was 25. Mrs Rafay had lived in Pakistan with her family while Ahmad lived in the UK after relocating there as a child.
"The defendant's family promised her family that she would be treated as an actual daughter, not daughter in law. They didn't do so," Mr Baker said. "They made her do all the housework and she wasn't allowed to eat until they had finished eating."
The court heard that Ahmad was 'abusive, controlling and violent throughout their marriage'. A former colleague of Mrs Rafay, Gemma Mulvaney, described how Ahmad would follow her to work: "He used to follow her to work in the car, but she would walk. I call it kerb crawling. He used to drive really slowly next to her."
Another colleague, Kirsty Tomlin, said Mrs Rafay had described Ahmad as 'horrible' and 'evil'. "She said he used to beat her up, he never helped her in the house. He just wasn't nice to her," she said. "She said she wasn't happy in her marriage. She said she couldn't leave him because he would kill her."
The final chance and the attack
In June last year, Mrs Rafay began speaking to a man she met on TikTok. They grew close and she fell in love, wanting to marry him. In September she sought a divorce through a mediator and in October served a divorce application on Ahmad, who requested mediation. She agreed to give him 'one more chance to change'.
The night before the attack, Mrs Rafay told Ahmad she wanted a divorce. On the morning of January 27, as she filled a water bottle in the kitchen, Ahmad entered from behind with a kitchen knife and repeatedly stabbed her. She collapsed but managed to get up and run to a neighbour for help. Ahmad chased her and continued the assault outside.
"She managed to get up and went next door seeking help. The defendant chased her, caught up with her and started stabbing her again," Mr Baker said. Neighbours watched in horror as Ahmad stabbed her on the ground, and he was seen 'walking back to the house leaving her dead or dying'. The prosecutor added that as he returned, he was seen to 'smile or smirk'.
Ahmad then sent a message to the family WhatsApp group and to Mrs Rafay's father saying: "I have killed my wife." In arrest footage shown to the court, he said: "I'm truly sorry, I'm truly sorry, I'm sorry." Later he said: "Self defence, self defence, she attacked me."
Psychotic episode claim
During his evidence, Ahmad's barrister Mark Ford KC asked: "Do you accept you killed your wife?" Ahmad replied: "I was in a psychotic episode." He claimed he 'heard visuals and sounds' of a male voice telling him his wife would 'smash his head in'. When asked if he remembered stabbing her, he said: "No. Just flashbacks. Someone stabbed my wife, I think it was me."
Ahmad, of Lulworth Gardens, Wythenshawe, denied murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter. After giving evidence on Tuesday, July 28, he pleaded guilty to murder, and the jury was asked to record a formal verdict. Sentencing is scheduled for Friday, July 31.
