This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/sep/04/rachel-manning-shahidul-ahmed-guilty

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Rachel Manning murder: Shahidul Ahmed found guilty Rachel Manning murder: Shahidul Ahmed found guilty
(about 3 hours later)
A man has been convicted of strangling a teenager whose boyfriend was wrongly jailed for the murder. A restaurant worker has been convicted of the murder of teenager Rachel Manning, 11 years after her boyfriend was wrongly jailed for the killing.
Shahidul Ahmed killed the shop assistant Rachel Manning, 19, in December 2000, dumping her body in undergrowth at a golf course. Shahidul Ahmed, 41, strangled and repeatedly hit the 19-year-old shop assistant with a car steering lock in December 2000 before dumping her body in undergrowth at a golf course.
Her boyfriend, Barri White, was convicted of the murder in 2002 but later acquitted at a retrial in 2008. A "cold match" on DNA obtained when he was arrested for a sexual assault in 2010 linked him to the murder. New DNA profiles from suspects that are uploaded to the police DNA database are automatically scanned against profiles on file from previous unsolved crimes.
Ahmed, 41, was put on trial after DNA evidence linking him to Manning's death was discovered following his arrest for an unrelated matter in 2010. Manning's boyfriend Barri White, 20 at the time, was convicted of the murder in 2002 and served six years in prison before his conviction was quashed on appeal as a result of fresh scientific evidence, and after his case was examined by the BBC's Rough Justice programme.
He hit Manning repeatedly with a steering lock after she was dead, causing broken bones, Luton crown court heard. After Ahmed was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 17 years, White said: "I feel over the moon that justice has finally been done and really happy that Rachel's family have finally got justice and the closure they deserve."
DNA found on the steering lock matched Bangladesh-born Ahmed after it was discovered by the road on the direct route between the spot where the body was hidden and his home. White's friend Keith Hyatt was previously cleared of any wrongdoing after he was wrongly convicted of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice by helping to dispose of Manning's body.
Ahmed, of Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, sold his car eight days after Manning was murdered on 10 December. On 9 December 2002 Manning walked off alone from a nightclub in Milton Keynes to catch a taxi home to Wolverton while White walked to stay at Hyatt's home.
White, who was 20 at the time, served six years for the murder before his conviction was quashed on appeal in 2007 as a result of fresh scientific evidence. She phoned her flatmate at 2.43am to say she was upset, and phoned White to say she did not know where she was. He and Hyatt agreed to pick her up at a Blockbuster video store at 3.13am, but she was not there.
Ahmed, who denied murder, first stood trial in January when a jury failed to return a verdict. But following a retrial, a jury of seven men and five women returned a unanimous guilty verdict. She was found dead in undergrowth at Woburn golf club two days later. She had been strangled and her face disfigured by blows with the steering lock.
Ahmed was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 17 years. Ahmed, a father of five from Bletchley, Buckinghamshire, denied murder and first stood trial in January, when a jury failed to reach a verdict. Following a retrial, a jury of seven men and five women unanimously returned a guilty verdict.
White said: "I feel over the moon that justice has finally been done and really happy that Rachel's family have finally got justice and the closure they deserve." The jury at Luton crown court heard that his DNA was found on the steering lock, and it was "totally improbable" that a hair found on her clothing did not belong to him.
White's friend Keith Hyatt, who was cleared of murder but convicted of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice by helping to dispose of the body in 2002, also had his conviction quashed in 2007 after serving a jail sentence. Sentencing Ahmed, the judge Mr Justice Wilkie said Manning had had "much to look forward to and was relishing the challenges of life".
Ahmed was suspected of Manning's murder after he was arrested over a sexual assault in May 2010. The judge said: "Tragically at the age of 19 you, Shahidul Ahmed, snuffed all that out, driven by the same demons that led you in 2010 to conduct a sexual attack."
Thames Valley police said a woman got into his car after a night out in Milton Keynes thinking he was a taxi driver. She escaped after being indecently assaulted and was helped by a passerby who got the car's registration. The arrest led to a DNA match connecting Ahmed to the steering lock. White and Hyatt had "suffered the agony of being convicted and imprisoned for offences of which they were wholly innocent", he said. "Nothing can bring back either Rachel's life or those lost years."
He was arrested on suspicion of Manning's murder in September 2010 and charged with her murder in December 2011.
Detective Chief Superintendent Rob Mason of Thames Valley police said: "What is important about the verdict today is justice for Rachel and her family. I cannot praise Rachel's family enough; they have remained dignified and courageous throughout despite the unimaginable nightmare they have endured. I hope that today will give some comfort to the family after the ordeal they have been through over the past 12 years.
"This has been a long and difficult investigation which has resulted in four criminal trials. Both Barri White and Keith Hyatt gave evidence as prosecution witnesses during this trial and I would like to thank them for their assistance in helping secure this conviction."
Baljit Ubhey, chief crown prosecutor for Thames and Chiltern Crown Prosecution Service, said: "This case involved the tragic murder of a young woman more than 12 years ago. Rachel Manning, who was trying to find her way home after a night out, had the misfortune to come across Ahmed.
"We may never know for sure what happened that night, or why Ahmed murdered Rachel, but what we do know is that Ahmed is an extremely dangerous man who was only convicted last year of a sexual assault against another young woman.
"Had it not been for his arrest for that offence Ahmed may never have been brought to justice for Rachel's murder. It is thanks to developments in DNA evidence techniques that we are able to secure this conviction today.
"It is right to acknowledge that this is not the first trial for the murder of Rachel Manning, and I know that there are a number of other individuals who will also be very pleased to see the right man convicted for this terrible crime at long last.
"An unusual feature of this trial is that two men who were prosecuted and convicted for this case became prosecution witnesses. We are grateful for Mr White's and Mr Hyatt's support for the prosecution case.
"We know that nothing will bring Rachel Manning back to her family, but we hope that this conviction brings them at least a small sense that justice has been done. Our thoughts are very much with them at this time."
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. Enter your email address to subscribe.Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. Enter your email address to subscribe.
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox every weekday.Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox every weekday.