Husband and wife found guilty of killing brother-in-law after argument
A husband and wife have been found guilty in relation to the killing of their brother-in-law after a heated argument between the three.
After a six-week trial, Mobeen Shahzad was found guilty of the murder of Mazammal Butt, while Sheridan Fitzsimmons was found guilty of his manslaughter.
Mr Butt, known as 'Zammy', was fatally stabbed outside his family butchers in Lozells Street, in the Lozells area of Birmingham, on November 17, 2019.
The court heard that moments before Zammy was fatally stabbed, Shahzad, 28, and his wife Fitzsimmons, 29, were arguing with Zammy in the car park of the butchers. After the heated argument, Zammy's wife came out to see what was going on – and was grabbed by Fitzsimmons who told Shahzad to kill Zammy.
The pair then went out of view – but moments later Shahzad returned telling his sister, that he had killed her husband in the street. Fitzsimmons immediately fled in the couple's white Audi, while Shahzad walked home.
The jury heard how Zammy had been seen "running for his life", before being found in a pool of blood, alone in the street. Despite the best efforts from emergency services, Zammy was pronounced dead at the scene.
An hour later, Shahzad and Fitzsimmons were stopped in their car by officers on Alum Rock Road, and Shahzad was arrested. After being arrested, Shahzad's reply to officers was "Okay, sound." Officers searched their car and found a knife.
In the hours that followed, Fitzsimmons involvement in the lead-up to the attack was revealed and the next day, she was also arrested on suspicion of murder. Following the arrest of her husband, Fitzsimmons had carried out a Google search on how long a life sentence is.
The jury also heard that she had sent her husband a message before the murder advising him to delete previous chats as they could be "evidence of hurting Zammy".
Shahzad and Fitzsimmons will be sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on March 12.
Detective Inspector Jim Colclough from West Midlands Police's Homicide Team, said: “This was a tragic case where a young man lost his life at the hands of two people who were family, two people who were intent on him coming to harm.
“My thoughts are with Zammy’s family. I hope now they can find some comfort knowing that the pair responsible for his death have been brought to justice."
