Family of Mohammed Shah Subhani Issue New Appeal

The family of Mohammed Shah Subhani have made a new appeal to the public to come forward with information that could help bring those responsible to justice.

They publicly spoke on January 7, 2020, for the first time since it was confirmed his remains were found in a wooded area in Hedgerley.

Specialist officers continue to search the area as part of their enquiries.

Mr Subhani’s family paid tribute and urged members of the public to come forward if they had seen the key suspect vehicle, a black BMW X5 on cloned plates of YC67 MFY.

They are also asking the public if they had seen the vehicle’s two occupants when it was seen in Hedgerley Lane in the days after May 7, 2019.

The vehicle had been stolen from Reading Road in Farnborough, Hampshire, on February 8. It was later recovered on August 3 in Hounslow.

Mr Subhani’s sister Quirat said:

“What happened to Shah, no one deserves, the only thing we look forward to in our lives now is justice for him.

“For this reason, we beg you all to go back and try remember if there was anything suspicious you saw around Hedgerley Lane or Hounslow around 7 May last year.

“Was there something that you thought looked odd? Did you hear something? Did you find yourself questioning some activities taking place?

“We appeal to the public to please come forward and help justice to be served. Shah didn’t deserve this. No one deserves this. It is now up to you all to help us unveil the faces of the monsters who did this and get them behind bars forever.”

Recalling the moment when the family heard confirmation that the remains belonged to her brother, she said:

“When this heartbreaking news was delivered, we felt as if someone had pulled the ground beneath us and we had been swallowed whole.

“We had waited in hope and prayed that one day, against all odds, Shah will walk through the door and all this would be over. Never did we think Shah would be discovered seven months later, just 15 miles away from home.

“It is beyond our imagination that something so horrific happened to our loving Shah.

“These monsters maliciously killed our brother mercilessly and disregarded his body in an isolated woodland.”

“We couldn’t even have fathomed this in our worst nightmares. Not only was Shah robbed of life, but also robbed of a rightful burial.”

Detective Chief Inspector Noel McHugh is leading the investigation. He explained:

“When I met with Shah’s family and broke this awful news to them, it was something that I hoped I would never have to do.

“It is incredibly brave of them to decide to speak publically today, just a few days after what would have been Shah’s birthday [Jan 5].

“I believe that Shah’s discovery is something that his killer(s) were confident would never happen.

However, whilst this was the worst possible news for his loved ones, I believe it presents potential opportunities for our ongoing investigation.

“I think that this area is only familiar to a small group of people. It is fairly isolated and you would probably have to know it existed, as opposed to it being stumbled across.

“It is not visible to a passing motorist. As I mentioned previously, the wooded area had evidence of spent shotgun cartridges, these are not connected to Shah’s death, but I am keen to speak to people who use this area for such recreational activities, particularly if they were here in early May last year.”

Mohammed Shah Subhani had gone missing on May 7, 2019, when he went to an industrial site in Hounslow.

Police believed he may have been involved in some criminality and feared that some harm had come to him due to the length of time he had been missing for.

DCI McHugh continued: “A car parked up here would possibly appear out of the norm to locals who know the area.

“As already highlighted, the stolen black BMW on cloned registration plates YC67 MFY was seen on Hedgerley Lane in the days following 7 May, when Shah was reported missing.

“This vehicle had two occupants and appeared to be loitering in the area. This car was subsequently recovered in Hounslow.

“We are very keen to understand who was using this vehicle particularly on 7 May and the following weeks.”

“Please try and recall if you saw anything you felt was suspicious at this time, whether the BMW, or any other vehicle or people, or anything else that seemed out of place.

“Last time we appealed to the public we received information on an additional sighting of this car, so every call really is of the utmost importance to us.

“Do not discount anything as being too insignificant to tell us about – it could prove to be a significant piece of the jigsaw in establishing what happened to Shah.”

DCI McHugh went on to say that officers are continuing to search the area and thanked the community for being supportive of the investigation.

So far, nine suspects have been arrested in connection with the murder of Mohammed Shah Subhani but were released under investigation.