A 'controlling' husband accused of murdering his wife would 'curb-crawl' as she walked to work, a former colleague has told a trial. Syed Ahmad, 45, is charged with the murder of his wife Anam Rafay on January 27 this year. He denies the charge and is on trial at Manchester Crown Court.
Prosecution details alleged abuse
Prosecutors allege that Mr Ahmad had been 'controlling, abusive, and a bad husband' towards Mrs Rafay before she died. The couple were married by way of arranged marriage in 2005 when she was 16 years old.
Wife sought divorce after meeting another man
In June last year, Mrs Rafay began speaking to a man she had met on TikTok, who posted under an account called Haroon Khan Travel, jurors previously heard. It was said that Mrs Rafay went on to 'fall in love with him and wanted to marry him'. In September last year she contacted a mufti, also known as a divorce mediator, in Longsight to ask about obtaining a divorce application. The following October she served that application upon Mr Ahmad who replied asking for mediation. She agreed to give him 'one more chance to change', but he never did, prosecutors allege.
Fatal attack on January 27
On the morning of January 27 this year, Mrs Rafay was filling up a water bottle in the kitchen when Mr Ahmad came in and picked up a kitchen knife with a 15-and-a-half inch blade, jurors heard. 'He started stabbing her with it. She fell to the kitchen floor and he continued stabbing her whilst she lay defenceless,' prosecutor Bill Baker KC previously said. '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 that as the defendant walked back to the house, he was allegedly seen to 'smile or smirk' at what he had done.
Jurors were told that Mr Ahmad then sent a message to the family WhatsApp group which read: 'I have killed my wife.' A post mortem report revealed that Mrs Rafay suffered 40 stab wounds to her neck, body, arms and legs and died as a result of a cardiac arrest.
Colleague testifies about controlling behaviour
Giving evidence on Thursday, Gemma Mulvaney said she worked alongside Mrs Rafay as a dinner lady at Rack House Primary School in Northern Moor from 2019. She told jurors she had a 'really good friendship', describing her as a 'lovely lady' and said she 'cared for everybody'. Of Mr Ahmad, she said: 'She wanted to divorce but she said he wouldn't give her one. She said his family were just like him, very controlling and always took his side. He made her feel uncomfortable and made her feel quite scared. She told me Syed managed her money.'
Describing his 'strange behaviour', Ms Mulvaney said: 'He used to follow her to work in the car, but she would walk. I call it curb crawling. He used to drive really slowly next to her. He would then wait until she entered the building and then he would leave. I asked her why he doesn't let her in the car and she said she didn't know.' She described that during the lunchtime break, Mr Ahmad would park in the car park before 'pacing up and down the field'. 'I thought he was looking at a child at first, then, very obviously, he was watching Anam,' she said.
Ms Mulvaney told jurors that Mrs Rafay was often late for work, which she was given warnings for. She said she asked her why she didn't leave for work without him, and Mrs Rafay reportedly responded: 'I can't, he won't let me leave. I have to wait for him.'
Signs of physical abuse
She said that prior to working at the school Mrs Rafay wore 'plain clothes and no make up', but upon seeing the other women she started dressing up 'glam' and 'loved the glam life'. 'She came in one day with a scarf around her neck and covering her lips. I asked why and she showed me her lips, and she'd had lip filler. I asked her 'why are you covering that', and she said 'so Syed doesn't know',' Ms Mulvaney said. 'The next day she came to work with a black eye and tried to cover it with make up.' She said she questioned if Mr Ahmad had assaulted her, and Mrs Rafay confirmed but said words to the effect of 'It's ok, I'll be fine'. Ms Mulvaney also reported seeing 'finger bruises' of various ages on her wrists and arms. She also said she offered Mrs Rafay a place to stay and help to 'get away' from Mr Ahmad.
Another colleague corroborates abuse
Another former colleague, Kirsty Tomlin, said Mrs Rafay had previously described Mr 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.'
Defence case
The court heard that Mr Ahmad accepted he killed his wife by repeatedly stabbing her, however, the defence case is likely to be that he did not intend to kill her and was suffering from 'abnormal mental functioning' at the time. Mr Ahmad, of Lulworth Gardens, Wythenshawe, denies murder and an alternate offence of manslaughter. The trial continues.
