The carpet shop killer who should have been deported

An illegal immigrant who hacked a father-of-seven to death with an axe because he was terrified the victim would have him deported has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 24 years.

Imran Muhammed, 31, wheeled the body of 49-year-old Seyed Khan through Ilford in a shopping trolley and dumped him in a nearby cemetery.

He spent the previous night cleaning up the bloodstains left behind after the savage attack at A-Z furniture shop on High Road, Ilford, east London on January 21.

Muhammed, who worked at a carpet shop with Mr Khan, was caught stealing from the till and begged his employer not to report the crime so he would not be thrown out of the country, Old Bailey heard.

He told police there had been a robbery at the store and he had been attacked with a bottle.

Police rushed the killer to hospital, and after he was discharged Muhammed fled to Glasgow on an overnight train and stayed there for a week.

Mr Khan’s lifeless body was discovered in Ilford Cemetery with the axe lying next to him, eight days after he was killed.

Judge Anne Molyneux sentenced Muhammed to life in prison with a minimum term of 24 years.

She said: ‘You attacked him savagely and brutally with the axe.

‘He never stood a chance against you.

‘You conducted your research, you knew that there was a weapon to hand and you carried out your plans brutally and without mercy.

‘You intended to kill Mr Khan, and you did so – the attack was ferocious.

‘Quite why you did this or what you hoped to achieve by it is a matter that may remain unresolved.’

Muhammed admitted killing Mr Khan but denied murder, claiming the victim had propositioned him for sex and threatened to report him to the authorities if he did not agree.

Khalil Khan, 22, eldest son of the victim, said his father was a ‘kind, loving and caring man’ and was ‘well-respected’ in the community.

‘My father who was the only breadwinner worked hard to support his family, which consisted of my mother and seven children, the youngest is only six,’ said Khalil.

‘Although I am only 22 I have now had to become head of my family and look after my mother, brothers and sisters.

‘Not only have we had to deal with grief and pain of having him taken from us in such terrible circumstances but we also had to hear him wrongfully accused of sexual behaviour in a clear attempt to attack and ruin his perfect image even after his death.

‘This has only added to the immense sense of grief we feel.

‘His death has had a huge impact on our lives which have now been changed forever. We had such a happy, caring and joyful family.

‘This has now been destroyed forever by an awful heartless act that none of us deserved.

‘Although justice may prevail in the eyes of the law as a family we will never receive the justice of having our father back.

‘I hope no one ever faces the trial of losing their loved one in such a horrible way. My dad may now be gone but he will never be forgotten. He has left a void in our lives that can never be replaced or filled by another.

‘We miss him so much.’

An Old Bailey jury deliberated for 13-and-a-half hours before finding him guilty of murder by a majority of 11 to one.

Timothy Cray, prosecuting, said Mr Khan told his wife that Muhammed had been stealing money.

‘He had in effect asked Seyed to take pity on him, saying his life was a failure and he was unable to hold down a job,’ said Mr Cray.

Muhammed came to the UK from Pakistan in 2011 and in January 2013 his visa application to remain was refused.

He then made submissions to the Home office and applied for asylum.

Four days before the killing Muhammed had searched on his mobile phone: ‘How to kill a man with a hammer and how to kill a man with a punch.’

Muhammad, of Ilford, denied murder but was convicted by the jury. He also admitted perverting the course of justice.

He was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 24 years for murder and five years in prison to run concurrently for PCJ.

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