Husband jailed for Murdering Wife & Two Daughters

Mohammed Abdul Shakur, aged 46, of East Ham, London, was jailed for life for a triple murder. The husband killed his wife and two daughters.

The Old Bailey heard that he killed 26-year-old Juli Begum and their children, Thanha, aged six, and Anika, aged five, at their East Ham home on New Year’s Day 2007.

He left their bodies in a bed before fleeing the UK.

In 2003, Juli left Shakur due to his violent behaviour towards her. She went to live with her mother, Karful Nessa on Nelson Street.

Juli and her daughters were last seen alive on Nelson Street when they were spotted on CCTV during Christmas 2006.

On January 10, 2007, Juli’s sister Sheli called the police after becoming concerned that she had not seen her sister and nieces since December 31, 2006.

Police broke down the front door and searched the house. They discovered that an upstairs bedroom door was open and the curtains were closed.

One officer saw a bed and a body underneath the covers. Police found Juli’s body. Anika’s body was found lying across her. A sock was found tightly bound around her neck.

Jurors heard that Juli was possibly smothered to death.

Thanha’s body was discovered with “catastrophic injuries”, having suffered a severe head injury.

After the killings, Shakur obtained a passport and fled to Bangladesh, claiming that his father was ill.

Juli had an arranged marriage to Shakur when she was 19 and he came to the UK on a spousal visa. However, he was violent towards her.

While working at an Indian restaurant in Frimley, Surrey, Shakur was paid cash in hand and was allowed to live in the flat above the restaurant.

He sent money to his family in Bangladesh while Juli received child benefits.

Prior to the murders, the couple rowed over Juli’s unwillingness to progress her husband’s immigration application.

According to Sheli, Shakur told his wife that he did not like their children much because they were not boys.

In her witness statement, she reported Shakur telling Juli:

“If you don’t correct my visa and you don’t make me legal to stay in this country then I will kill you and kill your whole family”.

While in Bangladesh, Shakur confessed his crimes to his sister-in-law telling her:

“If you tell the police I will murder you and your children.”

He later fled to India and lived there for several years before he was arrested in May 2013. He was extradited in April 2019.

Following a trial, Shakur was convicted of three counts of murder on October 31, 2019.

Junior prosecutor Kerry Broome read an impact statement from the victims’ family.

In the statement, Sheli described how their mother “would cry in the middle of the night” and was so depressed family members would have to sit with her.

Sheli said: “She (Ms Nessa) suffered from depression and it affected her health.

“She used to cry all the time, she told me all the time she couldn’t concentrate and couldn’t sleep.

“She said she could hear Thanha and Anika crying out to her. I see them in my mind.

“The only thing I can think of is them, not my husband or my own children.

“It has destroyed my life – I cannot watch the television or see a film without something triggering back to what happened.

“It will be with us for the rest of our lives.”

Judge Richard Marks QC said: “Having heard the victim impact statement, it is clear Juli’s family remains utterly devastated by what you did.”

On February 6, 2020, Judge Marks passed sentence, telling Shakur:

“It is difficult to find words which adequately convey the sense of outrage that would inevitably be felt by anybody listening to the facts of this case.

“This was a vicious, sustained attack on two little girls and on your wife.”

He went on to say that Juli was no match for her well-built husband.

Judge Marks added: “It’s difficult to imagine three more vulnerable and defenceless victims.

“In the immediate aftermath of the killings, you thought only of yourself. You told a tissue of lies as you planned your escape, not having shown one iota of remorse for what you did.”

Newham Recorder reported that Shakur was sentenced to life and must serve a minimum of 40 years. As it was revealed that he spent 2,382 days in custody in India, his sentence was reduced by six years, six months and six days.