Imran Muhammed was found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey today
A carpet shop worker who hacked a father-of-seven to death with an axe after being caught with his hand in the till is facing life in prison.
Imran Muhammed, 31, then carried the body of Seyed Khan, 49, through the streets in a shopping trolley before he dumped him in a nearby cemetery.
He spent the night before cleaning up the bloodstains left behind after the vicious attack at A-Z furniture shop on High Road, Ilford, east London on January 21.
At the Old Bailey today, a jury found Muhammed guilty of murder, rejecting a claim that he had acted in self-defence.
The court heard Mr Khan had caught Muhammed stealing, conduct which could have had dire consequences for the illegal immigrant’s status in the UK.
The killer later contacted police and claimed there had been a robbery at the store and he had been attacked with a bottle. He is pictured on CCTV showing injuries to his arm he claimed he sustained in the attack.
Police took him to hospital and after being discharged he fled to Glasgow on an overnight train and stayed there for a week.
Mr Khan’s body was found in Ilford Cemetery with the axe lying next to him eight days after he was killed.
A CCTV image released by the Crown Prosecution Service which showed Muhammed reporting a robbery at the store, claiming he had been attacked with a bottle
Father of seven Seyed Khan, who was described as a ‘hard working family man’, had caught Muhammed stealing money in the weeks before the murder
Muhammed admitted killing Mr Khan but denied murder, claiming the victim wanted to have sex with him and threatened to report him to the authorities if he did not agree.
As a result he snapped and lost control, he said.
An Old Bailey jury deliberated for 13-and-a-half hours before finding him guilty of murder by a majority of 11 to one.
Judge Ann Molyneux remanded him in custody ahead of sentence tomorrow when she will set the minimum term he must serve before being considered for release.
‘The loss of Seyed Khan is a tragedy,’ she told the jury after they returned the verdict.
Police took him to hospital to get treatment for his injuries, and after being discharged he fled to Glasgow on an overnight train and stayed there for a week. Here he is leaving a coach in the Scottish city
‘A tragedy for his seven children, for his wife and for his friends and for all who knew him.
‘We will not forget at this moment that he was held in very high regard by them all.’
Timothy Cray, prosecuting, said Mr Khan was a ‘hard-working family man’ and was left in charge of the shop when the owner went on holiday.
He said: ‘In the weeks before the killing Seyed told his wife that an employee at the shop (who must have been the defendant) 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.’
The court heard Muhammed has previous convictions for dishonesty and his leave to remain in Britain expired ended three years ago.
‘If Seyed reported further allegations of wrong doing by the defendant this would have had serious consequences in terms of his work and immigration status,’ Mr Cray said.
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.’
On January 24 the two men met at the shop.
‘The next day, Thursday 25 January 2018, at about 9am just before opening hours, the defendant telephoned to the owner of the shop, Mr Fawad Ali,’ Mr Cray said.
‘He said he was worried about Seyed, that Seyed’s car was still parked outside the shop and that it was likely to get a parking ticket.
‘In that call, the defendant was undoubtedly lying to Mr Ali about Seyed and what he had done.
‘That is because a police investigation has shown, and the defendant now accepts, that he Imran Muhammed killed Seyed inside A-Z on the Wednesday evening.
‘The fatal attack was a brutal assault to Seyed’s head and body, with a deadly weapon – a metal axe.
‘The defendant killed Seyed in the inner office area of A-Z. After the killing, he spent most of the Wednesday evening trying to clean up the bloodstains that had been left.
‘He had gone as far as painting over bloodstains that were left on the wall and started to bag up the murder weapon and the blood-stained clothing.’
In the early hours of the following morning he dumped the body in the cemetery and a couple or hours later called the police claiming there had been a robbery at the shop.
Muhammad, of Ilford, denied murder but was convicted by the jury. He will be sentenced tomorrow.