Police have released chilling CCTV footage showing a man smiling as he boarded a bus moments after stabbing his wife to death outside a women's refuge. The footage captures Habibur Masum calmly walking through Bradford city centre after murdering Kulsuma Akter as she pushed their baby in a pram.
Masum, 27, was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 28 years for the brutal attack that left their seven-month-old son behind at the scene. Bradford Crown Court heard how Ms Akter had fled to the refuge to escape her husband after he held a knife to her throat at their home in Greater Manchester.
CCTV captures killer's movements
The prosecution told jurors that CCTV footage of Masum's movements after the attack showed a "smiling killer". Prosecutor Stephen Wood KC said the close-up footage of Masum getting on a bus smiling "removed all possible doubt" about his state of mind.
After tracking Ms Akter through her phone location, Masum was seen on CCTV in the days leading up to the fatal attack "loitering, watching and waiting" in streets around the hostel. The court heard he had been systematically stalking his wife before launching his deadly assault.
Brutal attack in city centre
Ms Akter left the refuge on April 6 last year and was walking in Bradford city centre with a friend, pushing her baby in a pram, when Masum confronted her. CCTV footage showed him trying to steer Ms Akter and the pram away before pulling a knife from his jacket when he realised she was not coming with him.
The footage of the attack, played during the trial, captured Ms Akter's screams as Masum stabbed her at least 25 times. Mr Wood told jurors: "He grabs Kulsuma and pushes her into a wall, stabbing her to the body. You will see that Kulsuma then goes to the ground only for the defendant to launch a ferocious and deadly attack."
Final acts of violence
After the sustained knife attack, Masum put Ms Akter on the ground and kicked her "as a final insult" before lifting her head and deliberately cutting her throat. Mr Wood said: "When the defendant had finished stabbing her, as a final act of sheer gratuitous violence, he kicks Kulsuma before moving away, but not before ensuring that he disposed of the knife."
The footage released by police after Masum's conviction showed him calmly walking away from the murder scene through Bradford city centre. Mr Wood said it showed no signs of him being "distressed", as he had claimed in his evidence, telling jurors: "There were no tears, there was no distress."
Killer's disturbing behaviour
The prosecutor described the smile visible as Masum boarded the bus as evidence he thought "he's getting away". Mr Wood said: "Perhaps, members of the jury, the smile you can clearly see form as he gets on that bus is as a result of him thinking at that point he's getting away. The smiling killer."
During the trial, Masum refused to watch footage of the attack but jurors heard that during his first police interview he requested to see it. Mr Wood said he wanted to see what officers "had on him", suggesting a calculated approach to his defence.
(PA) Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
