By Andrew Young And Lucy Caulkett-
A jury at Leeds Crown Court today has heard that an evil man killed his wife, after receiving a helping hand from his friend.
are accused of using both a knife and a hammer to bludgeon 26 year old Sinead Woodling to death last May after a drunken row. In a crime that alleges a family conspiracy to murder a helpless woman, Ali’s 21 year old brother, Asim Ali, his mother Aktarhr Bi, and Vicky Briggs- a friend of Yasmin Ahmed, are all implicated in either facilitating the murder or assisting the offenders in hiding the body.
It is not Islamaphobic to say that murders of this type within families are more common among Muslim family, although those guilty of such crimes are a minority of the whole.
LEEDS CROWN COURT HEARING:
26-year-old Sinead Wooding
26-year-old Sinead Wooding’s burnt body was discovered in woodland in the Adel area of north Leeds on Sunday May 14. Prosecutors say her husband, 27 year old Akshar Ali, and his friend Yasmin Ahmed, also 27, murdered her at Ahmed’s home in Reginald Mount Potternewton , before the attempting to hide the body in the cellar for two days. The court heard Miss Wooding and Ali of Potternewton, had been involved in an argument after drinking during a party at the house on Thursday May 11.
AD: Capeesh Restaurant
Prosecutor Nicholas Campbell QC said Miss Wooding had started to convert to the Islamic faith and changed her name to Zakirah before she met Akshar Ali, who worked on a food stall at Leeds indoor market. Jurors were told that the couple signed a marriage contract after an Islamic Nikah ceremony in February 2015. The subsequent marriage relationship turned out to be a “volatile” and sometimes violent relationship, according to Campbell. One of the issues that made their marriage a problem was the fact Miss Wooding continued to visit a female friend against the wishes of her family. Her family had “forbidden her from visiting, jurors were told.
A Home Office pathologist concluded several skull fractures were caused by at least one claw hammer, and Cambell said Miss Wooding had been stabbed several times and struck repeatedly across the head. Mr Campbell also told the court that a blood stain on the cellar floor along with numerous blood spots on walls matched Miss Wooding’s DNA. Akshar Ali, from Hyde Park, and Yasmin Ahmed both deny murder. Ali’s 45-year-old mother Aktahr Bi, of Kings Road, Hyde Park, is accused of assisting an offender by making arrangements to dispose of Sinead Wooding’s corpse. She too denies the charges. Ali’s 21-year-old brother Asim Ali, of Kings Road, Hyde Park, denies assisting an offender by procuring a vehicle and assisting in the disposal and burning of her body. Yasmin Ahmed’s friend Vicky Briggs aged 25, of Throstle Road, Middleton, denies assisting an offender by helping clean up and burn material after the murder.
The eye of media.com has heard from reliable sources that extended family members of the murdered victim are so devastated by the murder and the alleged involvements of family members that many of them have been struggling to eat ever since. Accused parties have denied any involvement from the start , protesting their innocence to family members who have become even more distraught by the allegations against them . This deeply troubling case is expected to establish the facts as prosecutors furnish jurors with all the evidence in a court gripped with shock and suspense, still and attentive to every detail , as will be the case for the rest of the trial.
AD: Oysterian Sea Food Restaurant And Bar
Members of the jurors glanced back and forth at the faces of the accused and those in the public gallery as they braced themselves for more details as the case develops.
AD: Heritage And Restaurant Lounge Bar