Syed Ahmad has admitted murdering his wife Anam Rafay in their Manchester kitchen after she tried to leave him. The 45-year-old attacked her with a knife on the morning of January 27 this year.
A post-mortem examination revealed Mrs Rafay suffered 40 stab wounds to her neck, body, arms and legs, and died of cardiac arrest. Initially denying murder, Ahmad claimed he did not intend to kill her and was suffering from 'abnormal mental functioning' at the time. He told the court he 'heard a voice which told him his wife was going to smash his head in' and acted in self-defence.
Background of the Marriage
Ahmad and Mrs Rafay were married through an arranged marriage in Pakistan in 2005 when she was 16 and he was 25. She lived in Pakistan with her family, while Ahmad lived in the UK after relocating as a child. Prosecutor Bill Baker KC said the defendant's family promised to treat her as a daughter but instead made her do all the housework and not eat until they finished.
Ahmad was described as 'abusive, controlling and violent throughout their marriage'. Former colleague Gemma Mulvaney said he would follow his wife to work, driving slowly next to her, and would wait until she entered the building. Another colleague, Kirsty Tomlin, said Mrs Rafay described Ahmad as 'horrible' and 'evil', stating he beat her and never helped around the house. She said she couldn't leave because 'he would kill her'.
Events Leading to the Murder
In June last year, Mrs Rafay began speaking to a man she met on TikTok. They became friendly, took city trips, and she fell in love and wanted to marry him. In September, she contacted a divorce mediator in Longsight, and in October served a divorce application on Ahmad. He asked for mediation, and she agreed to give him 'one more chance to change', but he never did.
The night before the attack, Mrs Rafay told Ahmad she wanted a divorce. On January 27, as she was filling a water bottle in the kitchen, Ahmad came behind her with a kitchen knife and repeatedly stabbed her. She managed to get up and seek help next door, but he chased her and continued stabbing. Neighbours saw him stabbing her on the ground before he walked back to the house, reportedly 'smiling or smirking'.
Ahmad then sent a message to the family WhatsApp group and to Mrs Rafay's father reading: 'I have killed my wife.' In arrest footage, he said 'I'm truly sorry' but later claimed self-defence. Under questioning from his barrister, Mark Ford KC, he said he was in a 'psychotic episode' and had flashbacks but thought he stabbed her.
Ahmad, of Lulworth Gardens, Wythenshawe, denied murder and an alternate offence of manslaughter but pleaded guilty to murder on Tuesday, July 28. He will be sentenced on Friday, July 31.
