Akshar Ali (pictured) was today jailed for 22 years after he murdered his convert wife
A Muslim husband who murdered his convert wife before dumping her body in woodland and dousing it with petrol was today jailed for 22 years.
Akshar Ali, 22, used a claw hammer to ‘brutally’ kill mother-of-four Sinead Wooding, 26, who was stabbed six times, including in the neck.
His close friend Yasmin Ahmed was also jailed for 22 years after being found guilty of murder.
A court heard she repeatedly struck on the head with a claw hammer in a ‘determined attempt’ and that her body was found in Leeds, West Yorkshire.
Several text messages were sent between the married couple where Ali criticised Miss Wooding for her behaviour and social circles.
The pair were about to separate and an alcohol-fuelled argument ensued on the night of the sustained attack, probably about what would happen to the children – of which Miss Wooding shared the youngest two with Ali.
Leeds Crown Court heard Ali plied Miss Wooding at a get together at Ahmed’s home address with alcohol – twice over the drink-drive limit – to a point where she was unable to ‘defend’ herself.
Miss Wooding’s body was kept in the cellar – accessed via a hatch in the kitchen – at Yasmin Ahmed’s home for two days before being transported to woodland.
The pair then orchestrated an operation to hide the killing by setting the body on fire.
It had been wrapped in a duvet and trussed up with wire before being doused with petrol.
The smouldering remains were discovered on Stairfoot Lane at about 9am on May 14 last year by students out for a run in woods near a lane in Alwoodley, West Yorkshire.
Sinead Wooding, 26, (pictured) was stabbed six times, including in the neck, and her body was dumped in woodland
Yasmin Ahmed (left) was also jailed for 22 years after being found guilty of murder. Vicky Briggs, 25, (right) was also found guilty of assisting an offender
A jury unanimously convicted Ali, 27, and Ahmed, also 27, of murdering Miss Wooding at Ahmed’s home after nearly a week of deliberations.
The pair remained seated while they were sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22 years.
Vicky Briggs, 25, of Middleton, was also found guilty of assisting an offender by helping clean up and burn material after the murder and handed four years behind bars.
Akshar Ali’s mother Aktahr Bi, 45, of Kings Road, Hyde Park, was found not guilty of assisting an offender.
His brother Asim Ali, 21, of Kings Road, Hyde Park, was found not guilty of assisting an offender.
Aktahr Bi and Asim Ali wept in the dock before being told they were free to go.
Sentencing the pair, Mr Justice Langstaff said: ‘First of all I take into account the circumstances of the killing. Akshar Ali, you and your wife were on the point of separating.
‘Your relationship was violent, both of you were guilty of violence towards one another. You were in my view more violent towards her than she was towards you.
‘You give me the uneasy impression that you took some pleasure in winding her up.
A court heard she repeatedly struck on the head with a claw hammer in a ‘determined attempt’ and that her body was found in woodland (pictured)
‘On the night she died you plied her with drink, I suspect deliberately. She became intoxicated and was found to be more twice the legal limit to drive a car.
‘Just after 9pm you began arguing, probably about what would happen to the children once you had separated.
‘At some stage during the course of that argument, those in the living room heard a bang.
‘In my view, the prosecution was right to invite the jury to infer that it was the dropping of a hatch to the cellar.
‘In some way, you had managed to place Miss Wooding in the cellar, she was alive at this stage.
‘You left shortly afterwards but you came back intending to kill Miss Wooding. You formed that intention it seems to me about the time you put the deceased into the cellar.
‘You orchestrated an operation to hide the fact the killing had been done. A process of cleansing the cellar began.
‘It’s rightful said that Ali was the instigator, that he must have struck the first blow.
‘The number of blows and number of wounds indicate that it was a clear determined attempt to kill.
‘It seems to me the deceased died, in my view, suffering seriously awaiting death. It was a sustained attack over a short period of time.
‘The motives are obscure but it’s probably far less a motive in your case Ahmed than was the case of Ali.
‘There is no evidence of any serious hostility between you {Ahmed} and the victim.’
After the hearing, a statement issued on behalf of the family by police read: ‘It is so hard to put into words the impact that Sinead’s murder has had on us all.
Police investigated several houses in Leeds in connection to the murder of Sinead Wooding
‘We are completely devastated that she has been taken away from her family and her children at such a young age and in such terrible circumstances.
‘Those responsible were the people who should have been looking after and loving Sinead, especially her husband Ali.
‘Instead these vile people murdered her in what must have been a horrific ordeal, and then treated her body disgustingly as they tried to cover up what they had done.
‘We feel the pain of our loss every waking moment of every day and are still struggling to understand how another human being could be so cruel and take her life in such a horrible and brutal way.
‘This is a pain that will never go away and the family will have to live it with for the rest of our lives.
‘Sinead’s four children are having to grow up without their mum and as they get older will have to deal with knowing that their father killed their mum. No child should have to deal with that.
‘Ali and Ahmed did not have the decency to admit their guilt or take responsibility for their actions which meant the family has had to sit in court and listen to the horrible truth of what they did.
‘No amount of time in prison is ever going to bring Sinead back and it will never be long enough. They have taken her whole life away but they will still get to see their families.
‘We will never forgive them for what they have done.’