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Ayesha Ali death: Mother and her girlfriend found guilty of manslaughter of eight-year-old Ayesha Ali death: Mother and her girlfriend found guilty of manslaughter of eight-year-old
(35 minutes later)
A couple have been found guilty of the manslaughter of eight-year-old Ayesha Ali. A mother and her lesbian lover have being convicted of killing eight-year-old Ayesha Ali after subjecting the child to months of abuse because she was “evil”.
The girl’s mother, 35-year-old Polly Chowdhury, and her girlfriend, 43-year-old Kiki Muddar, were found guilty at the Old Bailey, where they had been on trial for murder. The little girl was found dead in her bedroom at her home in Chadwell Heath, east London, in August 2013.
A blow to the head was ruled to be the cause of death but more than 50 injuries, including bruises, carpet burns and a bite mark, told of the torment she suffered. Mother Polly Chowdhury (left), 35, and her lesbian lover Kiki Muddar, were found guilty of killing Ayesha Ali after a twisted romance revolving around fictional Facebook characters
Her mother, 35-year-old Polly Chowdhury and her manipulative lover 43-year-old lover, Kiki Muddar, were cleared of murder today but found guilty of manslaughter at the Old Bailey.
Both women had denied being responsible for Ayesha's death.Both women had denied being responsible for Ayesha's death.
The little girl was found dead at their home in Chadwell Heath on 29 August 2013, after Mudda called 999 claiming that Chowdhury had tried to kill herself and was in the bath and that the child was dead. Richard Whittam, speaking for the prosecution, told the court that her extent of the abuse inflicted by the couple could be likened to torture.
Paramedics discovered the body of Ayesha "cold and stiff" lying along the side of her bed dressed only in a pair of pink pants. But the little girl seemed unaware she was being abused after months after being locked in her room, beaten and deprived of food because she was “bad”.
She was covered in more than 40 injuries, including a bite mark and carpet burns, but the cause of death was found to be a head injury, the court heard. A hand-written diary entry said she “hated getting punishments” but was trying to be good. A letter written by Ayesha Ali
The jury was told that Ayesha's mother, Chowdhury, had left a series of notes, appearing to admit to the killing saying: “I have taken my life and Ayesha's life.” “I’m letting my family and Kiki down,” Ayesha wrote. “If I be rude then nobody will like me…I don’t like hurting other people’s feelings!”
But during the course of the investigation, police discovered that Muddar had created a set of alter egos on Facebook and phone texts through which she allegedly controlled and seduced Chowdhury. A list dated nine months before she died included “eating my jam sandwich on time” on the “good” side and “not putting my shoes in the right place” and “making a fuss” as “bad”. A 'naughty list' written by Ayesha Ali
Muddar expressed her hatred for the innocent child in a series of phone calls and texts of which she kept copies and even pretended to have cancer, blaming Ayesha for making her condition worse, the court heard. Muddar had called 999 on the day Ayesha was found saying she was dead. Paramedics found her in her bedroom, wearing only her knickers, as Muddar told them: “Ayesha is always naughty. She was a naughty child and Mum thought she was possessed by the devil.”
Muddar, who did not give evidence, says she stayed at her parents' house on the night the little girl died. She said Chowdhury had tried to kill herself in the bath and the mother was taken to hospital with cuts to her wrists, having left a series of notes, appearing to admit to the killing saying: “I have taken my life and Ayesha's life.”
And Chowdhury told the court that Muddar was giving her a cold bath as punishment for wetting herself while she was on her computer in the living room at the time Ayesha received her fatal injury. The court heard that Muddar, of Green Lane in Ilford, met Chowdhury while they were neighbours in 2007 and lied that she had cancer to gain sympathy.
It proved to be the start of her manipulation, which caused Chowdhury’s relationship with Ayesha’s father to break down and the pair to move in to the flat where the girl was eventually killed. The bedroom where Ayesha Ali's body was found
During the course of the investigation, police discovered that Muddar had created a set of alter egos on Facebook and texts through which she controlled and seduced Chowdhury.
She poisoned her lover against her daughter because she was jealous of their bond, saying Ayesha had “bad blood” and needed to be disciplined to drive out “evil spirits”.
Ayesha was popular with teachers and classmates at school and a neighbour described her as a "lovely" and polite little girl who was "happy and skippy”. Kiki Muddar during the morning of 28 August when she purchased a shower hose and fitting, it is believed this was a replacement for one that had been used to assault Ayesha Ali
But her mother believed a Muslim spirit guide called “Skyman” instructed them to abuse her daughter via text message and Muddar also created a fake online boyfriend called Jimmy.
She bombarded Chowdhury with more than 40,000 texts which said: “You have no right to ever love or like your evil daughter”.
The court heard a recording of a telephone call where she vowed to kill Ayesha, calling her a “c***” and a “witch”, adding: “I’ll f***ing drown her in the bath.”
In the six months before her death, police said Ayesha was subjected to horrific levels of mental abuse, which escalated to become physical during the summer holidays.
As part of the investigation, detectives recovered and analysed 140,000 lines of text from messaging apps and emails, 40,000 messages from a laptop, 1,450 voice recordings which were backed up on Muddar's phone and 17,000 pages of Facebook messages. A new shower hose and fitting purchased by Kiki Muddar found inside the flat at Bedwell Court; it is believed this was a replacement for one that had been used to assault Ayesha Ali
Detective Inspector Donna Convery, from the Metropolitan Police, said she had never seen a case like it.
“It took us months to unpick and investigate the web of lies that Kiki Muddar had constructed,” she added.
“Through the use of specialist officers we were able to evidence beyond doubt the roles that both these women played in emotionally and physically abusing Ayesha.
"Ayesha was a bright and intelligent little girl who was well liked by teachers and classmates alike…she was an innocent child who was caught up in the most bizarre set of events, manipulated by two adults who were intent on causing her harm.
“What the motivation behind this campaign of abuse was remains unclear. What is painfully clear, however, is that Ayesha, an eight-year-old girl, has had her life taken away in horribly brutal circumstances.”
The pair are due to be sentenced on Friday.
Additional reporting by Press AssociationAdditional reporting by Press Association