The most shocking crimes in the East Midlands this year and what happened next
Their names have hit the headlines for crimes of the highest gravamen. Here we look at five of the most serious court cases heard this year in Nottingham, Derby and Leicester, and the jail terms the offenders received.
Few can forget seeing the image of the glamorous Covid-mask-wearing mother and daughter attending Leicester Crown Court for their trial at Leicester Crown Court over the murder of two friends after a car crash. TikTok influencer Mahek Bukhari[1] was handed a life sentence with a minimum of 31 years behind bars for her role in the murder of two men[2] on the A46 in Leicestershire close to the Nottinghamshire border.
Her mother, Ansreen Bukhari, was also given a mandatory life sentence and must spend 27 years in prison before she can be considered for release.
Two co-defendants[3] were also convicted last month after a trial[4] of murdering Saqib Hussain and Hashim Ijazuddin. As they were handed life sentences, Rekan Karwan, 29, of Tomlin Road, Leicester, was given a minimum of 27 years behind bars, and Raees Jamal, 29, of Lingdale Close, who was driving the Seat Leon that rammed the victims’ Skoda Fabia off the A46,[5] got a minimum of 36 years. His sentence is five years longer than Mahek’s because of unserved jail time for his 10-year jail sentence for raping a young woman[6] in 2020.
Mahek Bukhari (right) and Ansreen Bukhari ( left) (Image: Leicester Mercury / Chris Gordon)
Three others, Natasha Akhtar, Ameer Jamal and Sanaf Gulammustafa, also appeared at Leicester Crown Court[7] to be sentenced for manslaughter. They had also been in the two cars that had pursued Hashim and Saqib up the A46[8] after an attempted ambush at Tesco[9] in Hamilton in the city.
Gulammustafa, 23, of Littlemore Close, Crown Hills, Leicester, and Ameer Jamal, 28, of Catherine Street, Belgrave, Leicester, were each jailed for 15 years, reduced due to time spent on tagged curfew to 14 years and eight months for Ameer and 14 years and nine months for Sanaf. Akhtar, 23, of Alum Rock Road, Birmingham, was given 12 years, reduced to 11 years and eight months due to time on tagged curfew.
Conrad Iyayi
Over at Derby Crown Court in August, Conrad Iyayi was jailed for life for murdering his wife. The 46-year-old plunged a knife into Kathryn Harris multiple times at their Littleover home.[10]
Their 11-year-old son, was asleep upstairs at their property when the defendant carried out what the prosecution called “a brutal and needless killing” on his semi-naked partner in the kitchen of their home in Oak Crescent.
He then called the police early the following morning from a nearby phone box and told them “I have killed my wife”. The stabbing took place overnight between February 5 and 6, last year, and the defendant initially pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Harris, who was an art teacher.
But on the second day of his trial, he changed his plea to guilty. When prosecutor Gordon Aspden KC opened the case at Derby Crown Court[11], the jury of eight women and four men heard two 999 calls Iyayi made to the police[12] shortly before 7.30am on February 6, last year.
In the first, he said: “Just get the police here straight away. Get the police here, I have killed somebody.” Asked who he had killed, Iyayi replied: “My wife.”
Conrad Iyayi murdered Katy Harris (Image: Derbyshire Police)
After he was arrested he gave a prepared statement to the police in which he said he had bought what he believed was methadone online through the dark web which he ingested sometime after 10.30pm on February 5, last year, and realised it was not what he thought it was.
He said: “I was hallucinating, my heart was beating making me think I was going to die. I woke up the next morning and walked past the kitchen where I saw my wife. What I thought was a dream must have been reality and I contacted the police. I had no intention of harming Kathryn, prior to this incident we’d had a nice evening cooking together and watching TV.”
Ms Harris, a 52-year-old mother-of-three, suffered seven penetrating stab wounds to the chest caused by her husband. She also received defensive wounds as she fought off her attacker. The victim had worked at St Clare’s School in Mickleover until her death.
Tafa Whittaker
Teenage gunman Tafa Whittaker was jailed for 18 years for shooting landscape gardener Luke Taylor in the stomach in broad daylight in Mackworth. In a victim impact statement, the father told how he still has no idea why the then-17-year-old decided to hunt him down, pull out a shotgun and fire it at him as he stood at the back of his works van.
Following a trial at Derby Crown Court earlier this year, a jury convicted the former Murray Park Community School pupil of attempted murder. In his statement, Mr Taylor said: “I did not know Tafa Whittaker prior to this and I still don’t know why he did this to me. I was in hospital for a month, had multiple operations and was in an induced coma.
Pictured is Tafa Whittaker, who shot Luke Taylor in Mackworth, Derby (Image: Derbyshire Police)
“When I woke up I had no idea what happened to me and I was so concerned about what happened and I just wanted to get home and see my wife and children. My whole life has changed and can never go back to what it was and I am very lucky to be alive. I can’t believe how lucky I am but my life will never go back to what it was.”
The trial in February was told how Whittaker rode on a scooter to Ilford Road and shot Mr Taylor once before fleeing and discarding the shotgun, he said in a nearby stream, but it has never been found.
Ijah Lavelle Moore, Daniel Francis, Richard Anderson, Malcolm Francis,
Earlier this month four men found guilty over the murder of 33-year-old Ricardo Cotteral in the city centre were given life sentences. Unarmed Cotteral was attacked by a group of men in the Lace Market.[13]
Ricardo Cotteral, 33, died on the pavement in Broad Street after being stabbed 14 times in front of horrified revellers. (Image: Nottinghamshire Police)
He was on weekend release from prison at the time of the incident, just before 2am on Sunday, April 24 last year. Despite Cotteral running off, the gang chased him and he was stabbed again and he was punched and kicked, the trial had heard. He was pronounced dead at 2.45am that morning.
A post-mortem examination was carried out by Professor Guy Rutty, which found that Cotteral had suffered “eight sharp forced injuries” and “at least two knives were used in the attack.”
The group were convicted in July and sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday, September 7. Those convicted were: Ijah Lavelle Moore, 31, of Woodfield Road, Broxtowe; Daniel Francis, 27, of Shakespeare Street; Richard Anderson, 25, of no fixed address and Malcolm Francis, 29, of no fixed address.
- Malcolm Francis will serve a minimum 30 years.
- Daniel Francis will serve a minimum 27 years.
- Anderson will serve a minimum 27 years.
- Lavelle Moore will serve a minimum 25 years.
Faheem Younis and Laney Aikens
Cold-hearted killer Faheem Younis was sentenced in August after he murdered a dad before stealing his bike and cycling by him as he lay dying in Radford Boulevard. The senseless killing of Darren Davis happened on one of the hottest days of the year – August 10 – last year.
Faheem Younis stabbed Darren Davis in the heart (Image: Nottinghamshire Police)
Younis was given a minimum term of 24 years before he could apply for parole after stabbing Mr Davis in the heart with a kitchen knife. Younis denied murder but was convicted after trial.
Laney Aikens, 40, of Denman Street Central, Radford[14], was found guilty of assisting an offender after he dumped the murder weapon down a drain. He was sentenced to two-and-a-half years on Thursday, August 10.
- All of these cases were heard in court this year. Other crimes have not been included because they have not been dealt with in court yet.
References
- ^ Mahek Bukhari (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ her role in the murder of two men (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ co-defendants (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ convicted last month after a trial (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ driving the Seat Leon that rammed the victims’ Skoda Fabia off the A46, (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ his 10-year jail sentence for raping a young woman (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ Leicester Crown Court (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ the two cars that had pursued Hashim and Saqib up the A46 (www.leicestermercury.co.uk)
- ^ Tesco (www.nottinghampost.com)
- ^ their Littleover home. (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ Derby Crown Court (www.derbytelegraph.co.uk)
- ^ police (www.nottinghampost.com)
- ^ city centre (www.nottinghampost.com)
- ^ Radford (www.nottinghampost.com)