Suhail Azam, 54, killed his wife in an argument over custody of their children
A Wolverhampton man was given a life sentence after he murdered his estranged wife during an argument over the custody of their three young children.
Suhail Azam, 54 from Newhampton Road East in Whitmore Reans, Wolverhampton, pleaded guilty to murder having stabbed his 35-year-old wife Kanwal Azam to death in her home.
A friend of Kanwal’s contacted the police after hearing her screaming in distress during a phone conversation on March 29th. The phone call was soon disconnected but not before the friend had heard the voice of scorned husband Azam in the background.
When police arrived to the scene of the crime, they found Kanwal’s body with multiple stab wounds.
Deputy Inspector Justin Spanner of West Midlands Police said, “We responded to the call immediately but unfortunately, when we arrived at Kanwal’s home address, she had been stabbed numerous times and was already dead.”
Kanwal, who had recently begun filing for divorce according to a police investigation, had sent her husband a solicitor’s letter outlining custody rights to their children
Following this, the father, who had organised for his children to be away from home when he visited, went to his estranged wife’s address to discuss access to their three children, aged between 3 and 10 years.
An argument broke out during the conversation, soon after which Kanwal was dead.
The Detective Inspector said, “Due to the phone call made shortly before she died, Suhail became our number one suspect and we immediately went to find him. He was located in the back garden of his home address and was arrested on suspicion of murder.
“It is our belief that Suhail went to the address with the express intention to kill his estranged wife after receiving a solicitor’s letter from her outlining access to the children.
“Thankfully, he had the sense to make sure that his children were not present during the attack, but they have understandably been devastated by what has happened.”
“It will be a long road to recovery for them and we hope that journey can now begin for them, safe in the knowledge that their father will be locked up for a very long time.
“We are satisfied with the sentence handed to Suhail Azam, which reflects the serious nature of the offence. Our thoughts go out to Kanwal’s family in Pakistan, her friends in this country and obviously her young children, who continue to be supported by our specially trained officers.”
Azam is set to face a minimum sentence of 17 years in prison for his crime after being sentenced on Wednesday at Stoke Crown Court, having been charged with the murder of his wife which he pleaded guilty to at Stafford Crown Court last month.
