41 YEAR OLD MAN MURDERED TEENAGE GIRLFRIEND
A recovery truck driver who caused the death of his teenage girlfriend by striking her against a lamppost with his vehicle has been convicted of her murder.Mohammed Azim, aged 41, was found guilty of murdering 19-year-old Lily Whitehouse in Oldbury last November, coinciding with his own birthday on November 5.
Lily was described as a lively and kind young woman who had just come back from visiting her newborn in hospital.
The baby had been born prematurely and was being treated in the neonatology unit at Russells Hall Hospital.
The couple had begun their relationship when Lily was 16, with Azim being 37 at the time, and their relationship was characterized as on-and-off.
Lily was also a mother to a child with another man.
On the day of the incident, Lily called Azim after her hospital visit, and he came to pick her up.
It is believed they argued, prompting Lily to leave the vehicle.
Azim then reportedly chased her, and his truck was used to forcefully push her, leading to her death.
Footage from CCTV cameras shows Azim pushing Lily with his truck, and it is also thought that he pinned her against a lamppost off-camera, which caused her fatal injuries.
West Midlands Police's DI Nigel Box mentioned that Azim claimed another driver had been involved in the incident.
"Within two minutes of the collision, Mohammed Azim has placed Lily back into the recovery truck and he makes a 999 call, during which he fabricates a version of events about what happened to Lily.
"He says that another car came along and hit Lily and ran her over, causing her injuries, and had driven off." When he called 999 he repeated the claim that she had been "hit by a car" and didn't offer her any help.
He was captured on body camera once again telling emergency crews he had chased after the car he claimed hit Lily as she was crossing the road.
Azim was arrested at the scene.
DI Nigel Box said Azim had never shown any remorse in court.
"What was noticeable was that he was really focused on how this had impacted on him and the fact that he was in prison and the fact that he was being made to come and relive the events of that night..." At no point did he acknowledge Lily's family and the devastation that he'd caused them, and he never acknowledged Lily at all." Lily had eagerly anticipated her new role as a mother, preparing a fresh apartment for when her baby would finally come home.
During a court hearing, Judge Mr Justice Murray informed Azim, who resides on Tividale Road in Tipton, that his sentencing would take place on Monday, June 22.
This followed the jury’s verdict, which was reached by a majority of 10 to 2 after less than six hours of deliberation.
As the verdict was announced, members of Lily Whitehouse’s family in the public gallery were visibly emotional, sobbing in response.
Turning to the defendant in the dock, Mr Justice Murray remarked: “Mr Azim, you have been found guilty of the murder of Lily Whitehouse.
You are remanded into custody.
The sentencing will be scheduled for Monday at 2 pm.
You may now leave the court.” The court heard that Ms Whitehouse, who had recently visited her baby in a neonatal intensive care unit, was struck by Azim’s flatbed Mercedes Sprinter vehicle on Old Park Lane, Oldbury, resulting in fatal chest injuries.
A Home Office pathologist confirmed that the injuries were mainly on her right side, inflicted while she was upright.
The injuries included a fractured upper arm, broken ribs, a laceration to her liver, and traumatic chest injuries that caused severe bleeding, ultimately leading to her death.
Testifying during the trial, Lily’s aunt, Melissa Wheeler, explained that her niece had met Azim after they exchanged contact details on West Bromwich High Street and had started a relationship.
During her testimony before the prosecution, Ms Wheeler acknowledged that the victim was intensely enamored with Azim, yet the two frequently argued, and the defendant occasionally blocked Ms Whitehouse when she attempted to speak with him.
She also noted that she was aware Azim was not the biological father of Ms Whitehouse’s child and that he was displeased about her pregnancy.
As a result, she would conceal her pregnancy with long clothing when visiting or staying with him.
Ms Wheeler further mentioned that her niece went into premature labour at ten weeks when she fell to the ground after Azim sped off in his vehicle.
Libby Higgs, a friend of the victim, testified that Ms Whitehouse confided that Azim would utter "vile" remarks and would punch her, which he claimed was just play fighting.
Throughout his testimony, Azim denied ever being violent toward Ms Whitehouse and insisted that he was the only person who supported her after her falling out with her family.
Regarding the events leading up to Ms Whitehouse’s fatal injury, he stated that he picked her up after she disembarked from a bus coming from Russells Hall Hospital, where she had been visiting her baby, intending to take her to her residence on Amber Drive in Oldbury.
He claimed that Ms Whitehouse asked him to stay with her for ten minutes before she went home, so he parked in Old Park Lane nearby, which was a wider street suitable for his van.
The two then talked and browsed on their phones.
Azim said there was no argument, and that Ms Whitehouse simply refused to go home and asked to stay with him.
He explained that he refused because he was tired and had an early start at work, but she tried to prevent him from leaving by stepping in front of the van.
He further stated that he began driving slowly to the left to bypass Ms Whitehouse but had to swerve back to the right due to parked cars.
In his evidence, Azim told the jury: “I hear a bang at the back.
It could have been Lily jumping on the truck.
I felt something bump the back.
“I feel the back tyres, like something come under the tyre or something drop under the tyre.
I slammed the brake and straight away stopped.
“I looked back and saw Lily on the floor in the middle of the road.” The court heard Azim came to the UK in 2001 from Pakistan around the age of 14 and went to college and worked in takeaway restaurants to learn English.
He was married in 2007 but had been single and living alone since his marriage ended in 2015.
The defendant told the jury Ms Whitehouse relied on him for support and that she did not have many friends, so would text and call him often while he was working.
