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Man guilty of murdering sisters | Man guilty of murdering sisters |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A man has been found guilty of murdering two sisters in their central Birmingham flat. | A man has been found guilty of murdering two sisters in their central Birmingham flat. |
Mohammed Ali, 29, of Old Snow Hill, had admitted the manslaughter of Yasmine, 22, and Sabrina Larbi-Cherif, 19, but had denied murdering them. | |
Birmingham Crown Court heard he had been in a relationship with Yasmine, who had once accused him of rape. | |
The sisters' bodies were found with multiple stab wounds on 14 September. Ali will be sentenced at a later date. | |
The detective in charge of the case, Det Ch Insp Joanne Clews, described Ali as an "evil monster" and his own barrister, Michael Bromley-Martin QC, told the jury he was perhaps the most "hateful individual" they would come across. | |
'Swathe' of blood | 'Swathe' of blood |
The trial, which lasted two weeks, was told that Ali used three knives to stab Yasmine twice and inflict 35 separate knife wounds on her sister, leaving behind a scene of carnage. | |
Prosecutor David Crigman QC, had told the trial Ali stabbed both women in the lounge before dragging their bodies into a bedroom, leaving a "swathe" of blood on the floor. | Prosecutor David Crigman QC, had told the trial Ali stabbed both women in the lounge before dragging their bodies into a bedroom, leaving a "swathe" of blood on the floor. |
Monster stabbed sister 37 times | |
He added that Ali had twice gone to the kitchen to rearm himself after breaking two of the knives he was using. | He added that Ali had twice gone to the kitchen to rearm himself after breaking two of the knives he was using. |
"He had left behind a scene of carnage," he said. | "He had left behind a scene of carnage," he said. |
Yasmine had also undergone "a beating", Mr Crigman said, suffering wounds to her arm and wrist and an 8in (20cm) stab wound to her back which entered her heart. | |
He said Sabrina's wounds were mostly inflicted with precision, rather than anger, leading to the loss of all of her blood. | |
Ali was arrested in Dover, Kent, on 16 September, two days after the sisters' bodies were found in their flat at the Jupiter apartments. | |
They were last seen alive at 2200 BST on 13 September. | |
'Barbaric' killer | |
Their bodies were found after relatives became concerned that they had not been in touch. | |
CCTV images seen by the jury showed Ali leaving the apartment with a carrier bag - thought to contain his bloodstained clothes - at about 1300 BST on Sunday 14 September. | |
Mr Crigman added the sisters' mother had found the trial so distressing she had returned to the family home in London and was not in court when Ali was found guilty. | |
The prosecutor asked for time for the family to "consider the position" and to prepare victim statements for the judge before sentencing. | |
A statement issued by the family said the verdict would not bring back their "angels" but would ensure their "barbaric" killer would stay behind bars for a long time. | |
Ali had claimed in court that he had been provoked, but a jury took three hours and 20 minutes to convict him of murder. |