The trial of Mohammed Taroos Khan, who stands accused of killing his niece Somaiya Begum, came to a sudden halt due to unforeseen circumstances.
One of the jurors involved in the case was involved in a car accident, while another suffered an injury from a fall.
Khan, who resides on Thornbury Road in Bradford, was accused of dumping Begum’s body on wasteland outside the city centre on July 6, 2022.
Although the 52-year-old has admitted to disposing of her body, he denied murdering the 20-year-old from Binnie Street, Barkerend, Bradford, around June 25, 2022.
Despite his refusal to give evidence during the trial, Khan was found guilty on Tuesday (14) following a nine-hour and 29-minute deliberation by the jurors.
The jury, consisting of 12 members, had been hearing the case at Bradford Crown Court for eight days and were expected to deliver a verdict at approximately 2:45 pm on Thursday (9).
When the jury returned to the courtroom at 4:20 pm, they informed The Honourable Justice Neil Garnham that they had not reached a unanimous decision.
As a result, the judge adjourned the case until Friday (10) morning at 9:30 am, expecting the jury to continue deliberating throughout the day.
However, heavy snowfall in Bradford disrupted travel and schools, which also impacted the trial. The next morning, Judge Garnham brought the jury back into the courtroom around 10:30 am, but only ten jurors were present.
The judge explained that one juror had been involved in a crash and had inquired whether they needed to make alternative arrangements to attend court. The court informed the juror to “hold fire.”
Furthermore, the judge notified the ten present jurors that another member had fallen outside of BCC, injuring themself.
Judge Garnham expressed concern that the injured juror was not in the right frame of mind to continue deliberating on such an important matter, and decided that it would be inappropriate to continue with a reduced number of jurors.
The jury resumed their deliberations at noon on Monday (13).
At slightly past 2 pm on Tuesday (14), the judge instructed the jurors to come to a verdict with a majority. Half an hour later, they reached a unanimous decision and found Khan guilty of murder.
Justice Garnham informed Khan that he would be sentenced on Wednesday, March 15.
