MANCHESTER MAN ADMITS MURDERING WIFE AFTER STABBING HER 40 TIMES

Syed Ahmad pleaded guilty to murder at Manchester Crown Court on 29 July after initially denying the charge. Ahmad attacked his wife, Anam Rafay, at their home in Wythenshawe on the morning of 27 January. A post mortem examination revealed Mrs Rafay suffered 40 stab wounds to her neck, body, arms and legs and died as a result of cardiac arrest. He is scheduled to be sentenced on 31 July.

During two weeks of trial, Ahmad claimed he did not intend to kill Mrs Rafay and was suffering from abnormal mental functioning at the time. He told the court he heard a voice telling him his wife was going to smash his head in and said he acted in self-defence. Prosecuting counsel Bill Baker KC told the court that Ahmad and Mrs Rafay married by arranged marriage in Pakistan in 2005 when she was 16 and he was 25. Mr Baker stated that Ahmad's family promised to treat her as a daughter rather than a daughter-in-law but instead made her do all housework and prevented her from eating until the family had finished.

Testimony from former colleagues described Ahmad's controlling behaviour throughout the marriage. Gemma Mulvaney, who worked with Mrs Rafay at a Manchester school from 2019, said Ahmad would follow his wife to work, driving slowly alongside her on the pavement whilst she walked, then wait outside the building. Kirsty Tomlin, another former colleague, said Mrs Rafay had previously described Ahmad as "horrible" and "evil" and reported he beat her and did not help with household tasks. Ahmad was described as abusive, controlling and violent throughout their relationship.