A recovery truck driver has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his 19-year-old girlfriend, whom he crushed against a lamppost with his van during an argument on his 41st birthday. Mohammed Azim, from Tipton, was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 20 years at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Monday.
Lily Whitehouse died on November 5 last year after Azim used his flatbed Mercedes Sprinter vehicle as a weapon, causing fatal chest injuries. The incident occurred just months after she gave birth to a premature baby fathered by another man. Jurors took less than six hours to find Azim guilty by a majority of 10 to two following a two-week trial.
Background of the Relationship
The court heard that Ms Whitehouse had been in an on-off relationship with Azim since she was 17 in 2023. Her aunt, Melissa Wheeler, told the jury that the victim was “besotted” with Azim but that the pair argued frequently. Azim would sometimes block Ms Whitehouse when she tried to speak to him. Ms Wheeler also revealed that Azim was “not happy” about Ms Whitehouse’s pregnancy, leading her to hide her bump with long clothing when visiting him.
Libby Higgs, a friend of the victim, testified that Ms Whitehouse confided in her that Azim would say “vile” things and punch her, which he claimed was playfighting. Azim denied ever being violent in his evidence and stated he was the only person who supported her after she fell out with her family.
The Fatal Incident
On the night of the murder, Ms Whitehouse had just visited her baby in a neonatal intensive care unit. CCTV from a nearby school captured the sound of Azim’s truck idling for about 16 minutes before the vehicle came into view, with Ms Whitehouse walking quickly along the road on the driver’s side. Prosecution counsel Rachel Brand KC told the court: “The defendant is driving the truck as if he was nudging or pushing her along the road. Lily started running, the vehicle is pursuing her at a low speed but, nevertheless, we say he was clearly using that large, heavy vehicle as a weapon.”
As the truck went out of view, a large bang was heard, which the prosecution said was the truck striking a lamppost. A Home Office pathologist found Ms Whitehouse suffered injuries predominantly to her right side while upright, including a broken upper arm, fractured ribs, a lacerated liver, and traumatic chest injuries causing severe bleeding that led to her death.
Azim's Account and Arrest
After the incident, Azim picked up Ms Whitehouse and placed her in his truck while dialling 999, claiming he had seen her hit by another vehicle that did not stop. He stopped the truck in nearby Park Street and put her on the pavement before emergency services arrived. Paramedics and police found Azim’s story “strange,” leading to his arrest on suspicion of murder.
In his evidence, Azim claimed he accidentally hit Ms Whitehouse as he tried to leave after dropping her near her home. He said she asked to stay with him, but he refused because he was tired. He alleged she tried to stop him by going in front of the van, and he heard a bang, believing she might have jumped on the truck. He stated, “I feel the back tyres, like something come under the tyre or something drop under the tyre. I slammed the brake and straight away stopped. I looked back and saw Lily on the floor in the middle of the road.”
Sentencing Remarks
Passing sentence, Judge Mr Justice Murray told Azim: “Your decision to kill Lily was spontaneous, but you would have been aware she had a five-week-old baby still in hospital. The baby has lost her mother forever at the very beginning of her life. Although Lily was not particularly vulnerable… she was a psychologically vulnerable young woman given her troubled background. She was very needy and dependent on you as you well knew.”
The judge added: “It must have been apparent at the moment you drove your heavy truck at her, there was a substantial risk you could kill her by doing so. I cannot be sure you formed an intention to kill Lily when you hit her with your truck. I sentence on a basis that your intention was to cause her really serious harm.”
The judge noted that messages between the pair showed Ms Whitehouse was “strongly attached to you and to a degree, volatile and extremely needy.” He stated: “I am satisfied that while much of the time you were supportive and kind, largely because you wanted to continue a sexual relationship with Lily, you were at times aggressive. It is clear the relationship was very much on your terms, which is not surprising given you were a much older man with more life experience.”
Azim came to the UK from Pakistan in 2001 at age 14 and later worked in takeaway restaurants. He was married in 2007 but had been single and living alone since his marriage ended in 2015.
