Naila Mumtaz: 'Evil spirit' murder family jailed for life

A husband and three members of his family have been jailed for life for murdering his pregnant wife in an apparent attempt to rid her of an evil spirit.

Mohammed Tauseef Mumtaz, 25, had to be carried out of the dock by his father after being jailed for a minimum of 13 years for the murder of Naila Mumtaz, who was smothered at her Birmingham home in 2009.

The killer's brother-in-law, Hammad Hassan, was also imprisoned for at least 13 years, while his mother and father, Salma Aslam and Zia Ul-Haq, were both given minimum terms of 15 years by a judge at Birmingham Crown Court.

Mumtaz, his parents, both aged 51, and Hassan, 24, had denied both murder and manslaughter but were convicted of the more serious charge following a 12-week trial which ended in July this year.

PA