"When I came down, I literally saw her there with glass lying around her."
A British Asian woman received a life sentence after pleading guilty to murdering her older sister. The 27-year-old, identified as Sabah Khan, killed Samia Khan by stabbing her multiple times in the house they shared.
The incident took place on 23rd May 2016, in Luton.
During the trial, Sabah confessed to the crime on 24th October 2017. The judge then sentenced her to life on 26th October, serving a minimum of 22 years in jail.
The court heard how after a family funeral, Sabah lured her older sister to their family house, saying one of Samia’s children was crying. She arrived at the house around 11.07pm, where Sabah carried out the attack.
In a reported 23-minute attack, she stabbed her sister multiple times, while the children slept upstairs. Reports claim she had nearly decapitated her sister’s head by cutting her throat. The post-mortem showed that she suffered at least 68 stab wounds.
After the attack, Sabah cleaned up the crime scene. She hid her clothing and knife by placing them in a bin bag in her bedroom. Next, the 27-year-old staged a burglary by breaking the front door’s window.
When police arrived at the scene, the British Asian woman attempted to convince them that she had tried to save her sister. She claimed: “When I came down [from upstairs], I literally saw her there with glass lying around her.”
Despite her attempts, police later found the bloodied knife in her bedroom during investigations. In addition, they uncovered searches Sabah made on the internet, where she searched for terms such as “getting away with murder” and “how to hire a killer”.
The court also heard how Sabah and Samia’s husband, Hefeez Rehman, had a four-year affair. They reportedly would have sex in his taxi and their house, when Samia would go to work. During their relationship, the 27-year-old reportedly had an abortion after she became pregnant by him.
Around February 2016, the court heard Hefeez’s affection had turned back to his wife. Angering Sabah, she conducted internet searches and supposedly engaged in communication with a ‘fixer’ in Pakistan. She had said to him:
“Sorry to bother you again and again. My friend is really upset now Hefeez does not even look at her ….he says he realises his mistake … You finish off Saima as quick as possible so Sabah can get her Hefeez back.”
In a family statement, Samia’s husband said: “My family and I are mixed with emotions at this moment in time. I have lost my wife, and my children have lost their mother. The pain is harder to bear when the murder of someone is committed by their own.”
Detective Chief Inspector Adam Gallop commented on the case, saying: “This was a brutal act of jealousy. It was not a case of honour killing, nor was this the burglary that Sabah Khan tried so hard to create. Sabah wanted her sister’s life.”
Now, the house where the incident has taken place had gone on the housing market, valued at £360,000.
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