GUILTY UK - Pregnant Sana Muhammad, mum of 5, killed by crossbow, baby fights for life, Ilford, 12 Nov 2018

[Legally Bland]

Her son, 17 at the time of the attack on November 12 last year, told police afterwards he heard his mother being shot as he was getting ready for school and then tackled his father because he feared “more people could have been hurt”.

“I jumped through and pushed him down the stairs so he is on the floor, then I tried to get the crossbow away from him,” he added in a taped interview played in court this morning. “I did that and kicked it away.”

The teenager said he struggled for the crossbow with his father, trying to point it at the floor in case it accidentally went off. “I was trying to make sense of what was happening and I was also really scared because of the weapon,” he said. “I was definitely panicked because my mum had already a really big arrow in her. I was really just panicking because I knew something bad was happening.”

Son ‘wrestled crossbow from father as shot mother lay dying’

 

[Legally Bland]

The footage, taken between 7.46 and 7.50am, appears to show a man being forcibly removed from the property by officers with his hands held aloft.

The man is then taken to the back of a police van and an officer can be heard saying: “Right you are under arrest, OK, for the offence of attempted murder.

“Right, my grounds for your arrest is obviously because you’ve told myself that you’ve come round here for your current partner, and there is an affair involved.

“She’s got in the way when, you’ve admitted on my body worn video, that you’ve fired and shot her.”

Crossbow killing trial: Jurors shown footage of man’s arrest after he allegedly admitted shooting pregnant mum

 

[Legally Bland]

The Old Bailey jury was discharged for legal reasons and a retrial has been provisionally set for 4 November.

Mr Unmathallegadoo had also denied a charge of the attempted destruction of the unborn baby.

Jurors had deliberated for four days before Judge Nicholas Hilliard QC ordered that the case be re-tried by another jury.

Crossbow murder trial jury discharged

 

[Tortoise]

ooh, very strange.

 

[Legally Bland]

5 November 2019

Armed with two crossbows, Ramanodge Unmathallegadoo, 51, shot his wife Devi, 35, as she tried to get away from him on 12 November 2018, the Old Bailey was told.

The crossbow bolt penetrated her body, causing "catastrophic" internal injuries, including piercing her heart.

Mr Unmathallegadoo denies murder.

Medics were unable to save Mrs Unmathallegadoo but her baby was delivered by Caesarean section and survived, jurors heard.

Mr Unmathallegadoo attacked his wife at the family home in Ilford, east London, after their marriage broke down and she left him for another man, the trial was told.

Pregnant woman 'shot by husband with crossbow'

 

[Legally Bland]

6 November 2019

He spied on his ex-wife for a month from her garden shed while buying a mechanical crank to help him load his crossbows faster, the court was told.

He allegedly owned two of the lethal projectile firing machines one called a Barnet Ghost 420 and another called Guillotine Crossbow.

Prosecutor Richard Horwell QC told the court that Crossbows require immense strength to load as well as a lot of time, and it was claimed he wanted two to avoid having to reload.

'It is no ordinary business to load a crossbow manually,' said Mr Horwell.

'These things are vicious weapons with immense power, and they take time and effort to load that is when you do it manually.

'There is a device. They are called mechanical crank loading devices, but it is still quite a palaver.

'By early August the defendant had sourced from another online retailer a Barnet Crank device which makes the loading quicker and it cost just under £125.

'The defendant's planning was as careful as it was long term.'

Spurned husband 'spied on ex-wife from shed for a month before killing her with crossbow' | Daily Mail Online

 

[Elainera]

The Old Bailey jury was discharged for legal reasons and a retrial has been provisionally set for 4 November.

Mr Unmathallegadoo had also denied a charge of the attempted destruction of the unborn baby.

Jurors had deliberated for four days before Judge Nicholas Hilliard QC ordered that the case be re-tried by another jury.

Crossbow murder trial jury discharged

Perplexing that the first jury couldn't reach a verdict after four days of deliberations. This seemed like an easy guilty verdict, he even admitted to killing her. What was the problem?

Let's hope the case is clearer for the second jury.

 

[CoverMeCagney]

Thanks for the update, LB. I am so glad that the baby survived.

 

[LadyL]

that poor baby is gonna grow up without a mom and when old enough, will have some hard truths to reconcile

is the father the new guy or her ex?

 

[CoverMeCagney]

that poor baby is gonna grow up without a mom and when old enough, will have some hard truths to reconcile

is the father the new guy or her ex?

Luckily the baby's father is the "new" husband, although they have been together over 7 years and have two other young children.

The "old" husband, the one who is on trial, has 3 teenage children with Sana. Those 3 have watched their mum die and will now watch their dad go to jail.

(I think I got that right)

 

[Kasmeer]

Spurned husband 'spied on ex-wife from shed for a month before killing her with crossbow' | Daily Mail Online

Snipped for focus - I noticed this in that article too:

Former hospital site manager Ramanodge Unmathallegadoo, 51, is on trial for murdering Devi Unmathallegadoo, 35, at her home in Ilford, east London in November last year.

...

The court heard the couple had married in Mauritius in 1999 but had separated in 2012 and divorced two years later.

So by my maths that's 16 and 31 or thereabouts (assuming 51 is his current age and 35 was her age at time of death). Poor woman, an age gap like that, at such a young age must have been a very unequal marriage; I do hope her second relationship gave her some happier years, and her children have plenty of support, particularly those who will have lost both parents through this. Assuming this time it's guilty anyway, I'd be interested to learn why the first one failed as I can't really see what defence there can be to this one... "aiming for the partner and missing" (see below) is still murder, even if true!

Mr Horwell later told the court: 'The defendant said that he had fired the crossbow at Imtiaz, but it was his ex-wife who had been injured and that we say was a lie designed to conceal what actually happened and what his true intentions were.

Spurned husband 'spied on ex-wife from shed for a month before killing her with crossbow' | Daily Mail Online

 

[LadyL]

Luckily the baby's father is the "new" husband, although they have been together over 7 years and have two other young children.

The "old" husband, the one who is on trial, has 3 teenage children with Sana. Those 3 have watched their mum die and will now watch their dad go to jail.

(I think I got that right)

wow that long ... I thought it was a new-ish relationship

 

[CoverMeCagney]

wow that long ... I thought it was a new-ish relationship

Nope, makes you wonder what on earth triggered it after so long

 

[LadyL]

Nope, makes you wonder what on earth triggered it after so long

exactly

 

[Elainera]

Thanks for the update, LB. I am so glad that the baby survived.

I just realized it is his or her 1st birthday today.

 

[Legally Bland]

I just realized it is his or her 1st birthday today.

Ohh. That never even crossed my mind that the child will share his/her birthday with the anniversary of their mother's murder.

I imagine it'll always be a difficult day for the whole family.

There was no court today, maybe this was the reason.

 

[Legally Bland]

15 Nov 2019

In his evidence, the defendant described spotting Mr Muhammad in the garden from the shed and chasing him through the house towards the stairs.

When asked why he had the crossbow, Mr Unmathallegadoo said: "It was there only as a deterrent because I didn't want to be intimidated physically by Imtiaz."

He said he had dropped one of the crossbows in the kitchen because he could only aim one at a time.

"Devi and Imtiaz were on the stairs. I just wanted them to stop (running) - I thought if I hit the banister they would hear the noise and stop," he said.

"I moved the crossbow to check if the safety catch was on or off - I was just checking and it went off."

He added: "While I was checking the safety catch, the next thing I know there was a bang."

Mr Unmathallegadoo said his finger had been on the crossbow while he checked the catch.

When asked what he had been intending to do, he said: "I would have checked the safety catch and then aimed at the banister."

Mr Unmathallegadoo admitted he had not simply said the word "stop".

He also said his first reaction was to go and fetch the second crossbow, adding: "When the crossbow had been discharged, I felt defenceless so the next thing I did was go back to the kitchen and get the other one."

The defendant said he had not seen that Ms Muhammad had been hit.

Newbury Park crossbow killer 'accidentally shot' pregnant ex-wife while checking safety latch, court hears

 

[Legally Bland]

Not much reporting, but the jury is out:
_____________

Central Criminal Court 11 T20187375
Ramanodge Unmathallegadoo
Details: - No Information To Display -
Trial (Part Heard) - Summing Up - 10:12
Trial (Part Heard) - Summing Up - 10:14
Trial (Part Heard) - Case adjourned until 11:50 - 11:34
Trial (Part Heard) - Summing Up - 11:53
Trial (Part Heard) - Jury retire to consider verdict - 12:24
Trial (Part Heard) - Case adjourned until 09:45 - 16:01

Old Bailey - Central Criminal Court Listings, Daily Hearings, Cases & Details

 

[Elainera]

15 Nov 2019

In his evidence, the defendant described spotting Mr Muhammad in the garden from the shed and chasing him through the house towards the stairs.

When asked why he had the crossbow, Mr Unmathallegadoo said: "It was there only as a deterrent because I didn't want to be intimidated physically by Imtiaz."

He said he had dropped one of the crossbows in the kitchen because he could only aim one at a time.

"Devi and Imtiaz were on the stairs. I just wanted them to stop (running) - I thought if I hit the banister they would hear the noise and stop," he said.

"I moved the crossbow to check if the safety catch was on or off - I was just checking and it went off."

He added: "While I was checking the safety catch, the next thing I know there was a bang."

Mr Unmathallegadoo said his finger had been on the crossbow while he checked the catch.

When asked what he had been intending to do, he said: "I would have checked the safety catch and then aimed at the banister."

Mr Unmathallegadoo admitted he had not simply said the word "stop".

He also said his first reaction was to go and fetch the second crossbow, adding: "When the crossbow had been discharged, I felt defenceless so the next thing I did was go back to the kitchen and get the other one."

The defendant said he had not seen that Ms Muhammad had been hit.

Newbury Park crossbow killer 'accidentally shot' pregnant ex-wife while checking safety latch, court hears

Bollocks. I don't believe a word of it!

 

[Legally Bland]

A man who killed his heavily pregnant ex-wife with a crossbow has been found guilty of murder.

Man guilty of ex-wife's crossbow murder

Not much at the article, will probably be updated.