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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Family guilty of allowing murder | Family guilty of allowing murder |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A family have been found guilty of allowing the death of a young woman in their house in Leeds. | A family have been found guilty of allowing the death of a young woman in their house in Leeds. |
| Sabia Rani, 19, was killed by Shazad Khan. He was jailed for life for her murder in January 2007. | Sabia Rani, 19, was killed by Shazad Khan. He was jailed for life for her murder in January 2007. |
| A jury at Leeds Crown Court heard Ms Rani suffered serious tissue damage after being beaten over several weeks. | A jury at Leeds Crown Court heard Ms Rani suffered serious tissue damage after being beaten over several weeks. |
| Four of Khan's relatives, including his mother, were found guilty of allowing the death of a vulnerable adult. It is the first such case in West Yorkshire. | Four of Khan's relatives, including his mother, were found guilty of allowing the death of a vulnerable adult. It is the first such case in West Yorkshire. |
| The relatives are Khan's mother Phullan Bibi, 52, two of his sisters, Uzma Khan, 23, and Nazia Naureen, 28, and her husband Majid Hussain, also 28. | The relatives are Khan's mother Phullan Bibi, 52, two of his sisters, Uzma Khan, 23, and Nazia Naureen, 28, and her husband Majid Hussain, also 28. |
| The family all lived in the same house as the couple in Oakwood Grange, Roundhay. | The family all lived in the same house as the couple in Oakwood Grange, Roundhay. |
| 'Evil spirits' | 'Evil spirits' |
| As the verdicts were delivered, the sisters started wailing and hugged each other before screaming: "Not guilty! Not guilty!" | As the verdicts were delivered, the sisters started wailing and hugged each other before screaming: "Not guilty! Not guilty!" |
| The jury of five men and seven women heard Ms Rani had been in severe pain and very ill in the weeks before her death in May 2006. | The jury of five men and seven women heard Ms Rani had been in severe pain and very ill in the weeks before her death in May 2006. |
| Prosecutor Simon Myerson QC said the defendants blamed her injuries on evil spirits and curses. | Prosecutor Simon Myerson QC said the defendants blamed her injuries on evil spirits and curses. |
| Khan was jailed for a minimum of 15 years | Khan was jailed for a minimum of 15 years |
| Ms Rani had been brought up in rural Pakistan and did not speak English. | Ms Rani had been brought up in rural Pakistan and did not speak English. |
| She came to England five months before she died and was not allowed out of the house without a member of her husband's family. | She came to England five months before she died and was not allowed out of the house without a member of her husband's family. |
| After her death, pathologist Christopher Milroy described her injuries as being similar to those suffered by someone in a serious road accident. | After her death, pathologist Christopher Milroy described her injuries as being similar to those suffered by someone in a serious road accident. |
| Mr Myerson told the jury each defendant must have known Ms Rani was in pain and that Khan must have been the cause of this pain. | Mr Myerson told the jury each defendant must have known Ms Rani was in pain and that Khan must have been the cause of this pain. |
| Warning to others | Warning to others |
| Judge James Stewart QC will decide later when to sentence the four defendants. | Judge James Stewart QC will decide later when to sentence the four defendants. |
| The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the defendants were the first in West Yorkshire to be convicted of allowing the death of a vulnerable adult and among the first in the country. | The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the defendants were the first in West Yorkshire to be convicted of allowing the death of a vulnerable adult and among the first in the country. |
| Malcolm Taylor, of CPS West Yorkshire's Complex Casework Unit, said: "Sabia Rani was the victim of horrific violence at the hands of her husband whilst her family, as the jury found, chose to do nothing to help her. | Malcolm Taylor, of CPS West Yorkshire's Complex Casework Unit, said: "Sabia Rani was the victim of horrific violence at the hands of her husband whilst her family, as the jury found, chose to do nothing to help her. |
| "The message must be that if families or other people with a duty to look after those who need protection deliberately choose not to do so, their neglect will not be ignored by the law enforcement agencies, and prosecution will follow." | "The message must be that if families or other people with a duty to look after those who need protection deliberately choose not to do so, their neglect will not be ignored by the law enforcement agencies, and prosecution will follow." |
| Det Supt Steve Fear said: "Sabia came to this country to join her husband and his family. As a young woman in a new country, Sabia should have had the support of the people that have today been convicted. | |
| "As the evidence has shown, the people Sabia should have been able to depend on knew her husband was inflicting continuous pain on her." |