Mansoor Mahmood: Murder victim's widow is 'broken' after Brierley Hill killing

The widow of a Black Country murder victim has spoken of her ongoing heartbreak, as she urged people to help track down the prime suspect in his killing.

Father-of-two Mansoor Mahmood was stabbed in October on Brierley Hill High Street.

His widow, Aisha Akhtar, has spoken about the tragedy for the first time and revealed the family are still struggling to come to terms with their loss.

Eight months on, no-one has been charged with the crime – despite detectives having identified teenager Niron Parker-Lee as the prime suspect.

Thanks to money raised by the family, the reward on offer for Parker-Lee’s whereabouts is now £6,000.

Aisha, who met Mr Mahmood at Sandwell College in 2012, said: "“We need to catch Mansoor's killer.

“Someone, somewhere, knows where this person is.

“No-one should lose their son, brother or husband.

“The person who did this is still out there living his life – but we will never see Mansoor again and that’s something this family can’t come to terms with.

“It’s coming up to nearly a year and £6,000 is a lot of money. It should be enough for someone to give information about his whereabouts."

Aisha said Mr Mahmood’s loss has devastated the family.

The 24-year-old factory worker also acted as his wife’s carer, helping with physical jobs around the house after she sustained a spinal injury.

He was also a doting father on his children Isa, three, and Awais – who turns two next month.

Explaining their father’s absence to the youngsters has proved harrowing, according to Mr Mahmood’s widow.

The last time she spoke to her husband she had asked him to buy some milk for their baby.

Aisha said: “It’s been stressful and hard for me because Mansoor wasn’t just my husband, he was my carer as well.

“It takes courage to step up and do what he did – he stepped up to help with the children even though he was a young father.

“Me and the children were everything to him – he always made sure we were okay.

“But they’re too young to understand what has happened.

“It’s been so hard as they want to see their dad and be able to hug him.

“Losing Mansoor has broken me, there’s not a day where I don’t cry for him.

“Every time I try to come to terms with it I end up breaking down.

“It’s really hard, as he was my rock – we were a team.

“We were perfect together, he was my best friend.

“Mansoor was a loving chap, he had that smile where you would just smile back.

“He was always a joker, making people laugh.

“He would always give the youngsters good advice and tell them to stay out of trouble.

“Everyone adored him, not one person could say a bad word about him.

“He didn’t deserve to have his life taken away.”

Mr Mahmood’s brother and father also attended an event at West Midlands Police HQ in Birmingham to try to raise awareness of the appeal.

They both reiterated Aisha’s call for justice to be done.

Mr Mahmood’s father Khalid Mahmood Choudhury, 53, said the Eid celebration on Sunday had been a hugely difficult time for the family.

He said: “It was the first Eid since Mansoor passed away and we couldn’t celebrate without him.

“I want justice for my son.”

Mr Mahmood’s younger brother Mujtaba, 18, said: “I would say to [Parker-Lee] ‘give yourself up’.

“We can’t get my brother back. We still don’t know why this happened.”

Detective Inspector Harry Harrison urged anyone with information about Parker-Lee’s whereabouts to call police on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

“It’s important we locate Niron Parker-Lee as soon as possible and I would urge anyone with information about his whereabouts to contact us,” he said.