"The whole thing was thoroughly planned."
Zatoon Bibi, 37, and her husband Gul Nawaz, 44, plotted together to murder music shop owner Tanveer Iqbal by strangling him to death, and involved their son in their plan.
The 33-year old husband and father was found a day later on February 1, in a cardboard box, in the back of his own car.
After calmly planning Iqbal’s death, she was then arrested and tried to blame her ex-husband for the murder, stating he was sorting her lover out ‘once and for all.’ When that didn’t work, she forced her son to lie in order to save her.
Bibi will be serving 27 years, Nawaz will serve 25 years and their now 16-year-old son a minimum of six years.
Bibi was Iqbal’s mistress, but when their relationship came to an end, Bibi decided to get revenge in the cruellest way. She lured him to her home, where he was strangled using equipment bought earlier that day from Poundland.
Detective Inspector Paul Joyce of West Midlands Police described it as a “chilling and calculated premeditated murder.”
“The whole thing was thoroughly planned. Bibi messaged Tanveer on [the Sunday] afternoon to check he was still coming over. She told him she’d got cake to celebrate his birthday.
“But the reality is that she was luring him to his death,” reports DI Joyce.
The court heard the father of two Iqbal and Bibi had been involved in an “unconventional and complicated domestic relationship”. Their relationship had been going for six-years and was known amongst family and friends.
The pair had gone through a religious wedding ceremony, despite Iqbal already having a wife.
The killers were seen on CCTV driving Iqbal’s car and there was footage of the killers carrying a bulky box to the boot of the car, the evening before his body was discovered:
“Although we can’t say exactly what happened we do know that together – and with the help of another person – they strangled Tanveer inside Bibi’s home,” explains DI Joyce.
“They then wrapped his body up in an old box, put him in the boot of his own car and abandoned it on a busy suburban road, presumably in the hope that they could get away with their crime.”
The Judge told the jury that the darkest part of their plan was involving Bibi’s son. She had forced him to lie to try and cover her tracks when the case first went to court:
“You constantly telephoned him (your son) in order to put pressure on him to lie and get you out of trouble,” says Judge Mark Wall.
He stated Bibi was “selfish and manipulative” and expanded his statement:
“Time and time again you suggested to him a whole series of lies, ranging from telling him to say that you were not at the house at the time of the killing, to saying you had been kidnapped and taken against your will by some unknown men.
“Your selfishness and manipulative nature are truly breathtaking.”
Iqbal’s widow spoke about how her husband’s murder left her devastated and will affect their daughters’ lives forever:
“The love of my life has left me alone to face a bleak future,” she said.
The trio will now collectively serve 58 years in jail, with Bibi and Nawaaz jailed for life with a minimum of 27 and 25 years, respectively.
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