The trial of TikTok star Mahek Bukhari, her mother and six others for murder has been scrapped due to “ jury irregularity”.
All defendants in the case would be tried again before a fresh jury next year, Justice Pushpinder Singh Saini said in a statement at Leicester Crown Court on Thursday.
The statement read: “The discharge was by reason of jury irregularity. The irregularity had nothing to do with any conduct or alleged conduct of the defendants or the families or friends of Saqib Hussain or Hashim Ijazuddin but was purely internal to the jury. There will be a re-trial before a fresh jury in the new year.”
Leicester Mercury reported that all 12 jurors have been discharged.
However, the defendants will face the same charges of murder and manslaughter when a fresh trial begins.
Bukhari, her mother Ansreen, and other defendants have been charged with the murder of Ijazuddin and Hussain, both aged 21, who died in a high-speed car chase at Six Hills junction on the A46 on February 11 this year.
Ansreen, 47, had admitted during the now-scrapped trial that she had a brief affair with Hussain but accused him of trying to blackmail her when their relationship strained.
In addition to Bukhari, 23, and Ansreen, both of George Eardley Close, Tunstall, the other defendants in the case are Natasha Akhtar, 22, of Alum Rock Road, Birmingham; Raees Jamal, 22, of Lingdale Close, Loughborough; Rekan Karwan, 28, of Tomlin Road, Northfields, Leicester; Mohammed Patel, 20, of Braybrooke Road, Northfields, Leicester; Sanaf Gulammustafa, 22, of Littlemore Close, Crown Hills, Leicester; and Ameer Jamal, 27, of Catherine Street, Belgrave, Leicester.
They have been in custody since their arrest earlier this year, accused of plotting to ambush Hussain and Ijazuddin. However, all defendants denied the charges.
