ROCHDALE TAXI DRIVER SENTENCED FOR PREGNANT LOVER'S BRUTAL MURDER
A taxi driver has been jailed for life for stabbing his pregnant lover to death in Rochdale.The body of Saiba Khatoon, 26, was found at a house in Darlington Road, Kirkholt, on 7 May.
Her seven-year-old son found her dying in the kitchen and sought help from neighbors, according to Manchester Crown Court.
Siraj Arif, 31, of Armstrong Hurst Close, Smallbridge, pleaded guilty to her murder and was sentenced to serve a minimum of 21 years in prison.
The judge, Michael Henshell, described the attack as merciless and sustained, noting that she was approximately 18 or 19 weeks pregnant at the time, while her son was in the house.
The case revealed that Arif had been married for ten years to Nazia and had additionally married Ms Khatoon in an Islamic ceremony.
On the day of the murder, Ms Khatoon's sister, Sara Ali, confronted Arif’s wife regarding his second marriage.
Ms Ali had informed Nazia about the pregnancy, which upset her.
Hours after this confrontation, Arif went to see Ms Khatoon and claimed he 'snapped' during an argument, during which he stabbed her 15 times, including two punctures to her heart and injuries to her spine.
Before turning himself in, Arif called police to admit that during a fight, she picked up a knife and threatened to kill his unborn baby, leading him to stab her.
The police investigation described the attack as brutal, with Arif expressing in the call, 'We had a fight.
She picked a knife up and she told me she was going to kill my baby or I'll kill you.
We ended up having a fight and I ended up grabbing the knife and shoving it in her—that's what I did.' The attack left a devastating impact on her family and friends, and she was pregnant with her second child, eager to become a mother again.
She is survived by her son, who will now grow up without his mother.
