Jealous Husband called Wife’s Lover while Strangling Her

A court heard that a husband called his wife’s lover while strangling her in front of their child before putting her body in a suitcase and dumping it in a river.

Aminan Rahman, aged 47, attacked 24-year-old Suma Begum at a flat in East London on April 29, 2023, after finding out she had an affair with a man her own age.

Prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward KC said other tenants living in the three-bedroom flat began to hear a child screaming at around 11:30 pm.

At around the same time, Rahman was video-calling Ms Begum’s boyfriend Shahin Miah, who was living in Abu Dhabi.

Ms Ledward explained: “The defendant is sitting on the bed, with the deceased hidden under the bedspread.

“Later, she emerges, holding her head, with her young child standing on the bed beside her, and attempting to console her.

“The defendant appears to be increasingly agitated, angry and physically aggressive.

“The defendant is holding the telephone whilst gesturing towards the deceased in an aggressive manner.

“The defendant grabs her and a struggle ensues. [The two-year-old] is present throughout.

“Mr Miah could see that Suma was on the bed, covering her face and that [the two-year-old] was nearby.

“Mr Miah said that during the course of that call, the defendant made a number of threats, that he would assault Suma and put the blame on Mr Miah, that he would assault [the two-year-old] as well, and then come to Bangladesh and assault Mr Miah.

“He told Mr Miah that Suma did not want him. She said she did.

“His impression was Suma wanted to leave but the defendant grabbed her neck.

“She screamed and was unable to talk. The video feed froze for the last 34 seconds of the call before the line is cut completely.”

Mr Miah screen-recorded some parts of the video call.

A video from a second call showed Ms Begum either dead or dying with her two-year-old sat beside her.

Rahman put the phone on the floor and continued angrily talking to Mr Miah while putting on some outdoor clothing.

He told his wife’s boyfriend: “I have murdered Suma” and “I have killed your mother and I am coming to kill you”.

Rahman had asked Mr Miah to refer to Ms Begum as “his mother” during the call.

CCTV footage showed Rahman leaving the property at 12:01 am, carrying the child and pulling a large black suitcase.

The husband walked to an adjacent block of flats which overlooked the River Lea.

CCTV showed him putting his child down, lifting the suitcase onto the metal barrier and pushing it into the water.

He then walked back home with his child.

At 12:20 am, Rahman left the flat again, pushing a buggy with both children inside.

He ran into his relative who owned the flat who had been called there after the flatmates heard a disturbance.

Rahman told her he had an argument and was leaving.

A member of the public found the suitcase 10 days later. It contained Suma Begum’s body.

Rahman and Ms Begum had an Islamic marriage over the phone in 2019 arranged by their families.

But to get into the UK, Ms Begum married another man in Bangladesh who sponsored her visa application.

Ms Ledward said things were not good in the husband and wife’s marriage. Ms Begum soon started a relationship with Shahin Miah, a man closer to her age.

Ms Ledward said: “Mr Miah was also from Bangladesh, but living in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates by April 2023, and their contact was online – via messages, texts, and calls including video calls.

“Mr Miah says they were intimate with each other over video calls and that they hoped in due course to be together.

“Suma was open about this relationship with Shahin Miah on her TikTok account, and certainly as far as Mr Miah was concerned both the defendant and Suma Begum’s family had found out about the relationship.

“There was talk of divorce, but also of Mr Miah not seeing Suma Begum any more.

“According to Mr Miah, the defendant was not happy about the relationship either, and threatened him a number of times.”

At some point, the couple moved to Leeds, with Rahman telling a friend he “couldn’t control” Ms Begum as she didn’t want to live with him anymore and wanted to be with “someone else, someone she loved”.

They were moving to Leeds so her uncle could control her and “impress upon her responsibilities to her children”.

On February 6, 2023, Ms Begum sent videos to her lover, showing scratches on her neck.

The Old Bailey heard she told Mr Miah that her husband had “come to kill her” and had “taken her breath way” and “almost killed me around my neck”.

She texted her husband, saying she was blocking him and accused him of hitting her.

Rahman claimed he was scared of her and that he had left her because she was about to hit him.

On April 24, the couple and their two children moved to London, staying in a flat with a relative.

On April 26, Rahman sent a video to a relative which showed bleach being poured into a shot glass and a voice speaking in Bengali threatening to drink the bleach and kill an unborn child.

According to Ms Ledward, it was suggested that Ms Begum took the video when pregnant with her second child.

Rahman told relatives he was seeing solicitors in the days before the killing.

Rahman first came to the UK around 20 years ago. He denies murder and assault.

The trial continues.