Wigan man convicted of murdering daughter-in-law
A Wigan borough man has been found guilty of murdering his 24-year-old daughter-in-law, just six months after she arrived in the UK to marry his son.
Mashal Ilyas, who came to the UK following arrangements made by the two families, was found unconscious at the bottom of the stairs in the family home in Oxford Road, Atherton, on October 9 2024.
Manchester Crown Court heard there were tensions in the family, particularly between Mashal and 53-year-old Nadeem Begum and his views on her role within the household, which could have been the reason for the attack.
Katie Marsden, senior Crown prosecutor for CPS North West, said: “Mashal Ilyas’s life was cruelly cut short by Nadeem Begum.
“It is difficult to understand what drove Begum to take his daughter-in-law’s life in such a brutal way. We may never fully understand the circumstances which led to her tragic death.
“Begum lied to paramedics and the police, saying he was asleep at the time, when his phone clearly showed him as active. It was obvious from CCTV evidence at the property that only Begum and Mashal were present in the property at the time of her death.
“The CPS worked with Greater Manchester Police to build a strong case including medical evidence, forensic evidence and phone data, to prove that Begum murdered Mashal Ilyas.
“My thoughts are with Mashal Ilyas’s family and loved ones. I hope they can feel some sense of justice knowing Begum will face the consequences of his actions.”
Emergency services attended Oxford Road to find Mashal at the foot of the stairs in cardiac arrest, with multiple injuries to her face, nose, mouth and lips as well as bruising to her arms, hands and body.
Begum told police he had come out of his bedroom to find Mashal collapsed. He claimed he had been sleeping and hadn’t seen or heard anything.
He then said he called one of his sons to come home as he wasn’t able to call for an ambulance for Mashal himself due to a language barrier.
An autopsy confirmed the cause of death as asphyxiation. Pressure had been applied to the neck, nose and mouth.
Suspicions were raised when Mashal was found, due to the injuries she susatined, and the inconsistent explanations given to the emergency services.
Her injuries could not be explained by anything other than a direct assault.
Mashal had a broken fingernail and other marks suggesting a struggle in addition to blood staining on her trousers. Forensic testing confirmed the presence of Begum’s DNA in the blood.
Swabs taken from Mashal’s fingernails matched Begum’s DNA and when he was arrested, he had a small healing scratch to his neck consistent with her broken fingernail.
Begum claims of being asleep when Mashal was injured were disproved by evidence showing his phone was active most of the morning.
Police were able to establish a timeline, as Mashal was on the phone to her mother at 10.15am that morning, a few minutes into the call, she asked her mother to wait while she emptied the washing machine. Mashal did not return to that call.
Sometime between 10.15, when she left the call and 11.40, when the emergency services were called, she had been killed.
Proof of murder was compelling but a motive was less clear.
Evidence produced in court showed that since Mashal came to the UK, there had been famly tensions.
Through messages Mashal sent to friends, it appeared that while she was happy in her marriage, she was struggling with Begum as the authoritarian head of the family.
There were tensions around her role in the household and the tasks she was expected to complete for the family.
Having heard all the evidence during the trial, the jury found Begum guilty of murder.
He will be sentenced at a later date.