The BBC reported on Tuesday that a man had been found guilty of murdering his niece, who was 20, because she had refused to enter into a forced marriage.
Somaiya Begum’s father attempted to force her to marry a cousin in Pakistan “by threat of violence” when she was 16 years old, and Bradford Crown Court found Mohammed Taroos Khan guilty of murdering her.
A judge heard that after her parents received the order, the Leeds Beckett University student moved in with another uncle.
Khan, then 53 years old, murdered Begum in Bradford in July 2022 and dumped her body in a garbage dump. It took 11 days for her body to be found, wrapped in a rug.
Khan, who claimed he didn’t kill Begum, admitted to trying to destroy her phone and burying her body.
According to the BBC, CCTV footage of Khan removing his niece’s body from the car and placing it on waste ground was shown to the jury during the trial. Khan can be seen parking the car and then removing a long, light object from the trunk.
During the autopsy, it was found that Begum had a 10-centimeter metal spike embedded in her back and penetrating her lung.
The BBC reported that a forensic pathologist from the Home Office testified that she was unable to determine the cause of death of Begum due to the advanced state of decomposition.
Khan’s sentencing for murder will take place on Wednesday after he was found guilty at trial.
