A man has been found guilty by a jury of murdering his own mother.
Mumtaz Ahmed, 43, has been on trial at Preston Crown Court accused of murdering his elderly mother at her home earlier this year.
The court heard during evidence how Ahmed called an ambulance to his and his mother's home in Prairie Crescent, Burnley at about 3.30am on Sunday, April 24, after saying his mother Inayat Begum, 85, was on the floor and not breathing after a fall.
Paramedics attended and Ms Begum was pronounced dead at the scene, with Ahmed arrested and charged with her murder.
Ahmed denied he hurt his mother, saying he was awoken to find her on the floor in a pool of blood, adding she was frail and must have fallen.
However, on Tuesday, after a day of deliberations, the jury found Ahmed guilty of her murder.
During a week-long trial, Francis McEntee KC, prosecuting, told the court the injuries to Mrs Begum’s body were not from a fall, but Ahmed had in fact launched a "sustained and forceful attack" on his frail mother.
Her clothes were ripped, and she had a broken jaw, broken ribs, a fracture to the spinal column and bruises across her body.
A post-mortem examination confirmed the cause of death given as head, chest and abdominal injuries.
Pathologist Dr Lumb said some of the injuries look to have been caused by a ‘cylindrical object’, which the prosecution says was a spice grinder that was found in the kitchen.
It is said other injuries were caused by beating and stamping, with blood being found on Ahmed’s trainer.
A gash to the back of her head is alleged to have been caused by the spice grinder, however, the pathologist said he could not rule out it could have been from a fall.
The house was locked, with Ahmed admitted he was the only one to have a key.
The prosecution said on April 22 Ms Begum went to her daughter’s home in Burnley claiming her son had kicked her out and threatened her.
She returned the next morning with her daughter Parveen Asghar calling the police because of Ahmed's aggressive behaviour.
When Ms Asghar eventually left, Ms Begum was unharmed, with none of the injuries she was found with less than 24 hours later when she died.
Defending Ahmed, Sasha Wass KC said Ahmed "loved his mother" and he "did not kill her on that night".
She said he was "heartbroken" when paramedics confirmed she was dead, "stroking her hair and trying to talk to her".
Ahmed claimed he was living with his mother and caring for her almost 24 hours a day.
Over the years, Ms Begum had been in and out of hospital after a number of falls.
Ahmed would give her medication and said he had noticed she had signs of dementia, but this was not officially diagnosed.
On April 23 after Ms Begum came back from his sisters, Ahmed was annoyed she had left the house and not told him where she was going, he started shouting at her and gesticulating with his hands.
His mother bit down on his little finger and he had to slap her and kick her to get her to stop.
Stressed about his day, having awoken without his mother being there, having an argument with his mother and being upset about hitting her, he took diazepam, smoked cannabis and drank Jack Daniels.
He went out to a betting shop but came back, drank, smoked and took more pills and ended up going to sleep before waking in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Ms Wass said when Ahmed went to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, he came across his mother lying in a pool of blood and thought she must have fallen and cracked her head on the concrete floor.
On Tuesday, a jury found that Ahmed had in fact murdered his own mother.
He will be sentenced in due course.
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