Meet, Marry, Murder - Season 1, Episode 24 - Khan - Full Episode | Forensic Files

[music playing] NARRATOR: An arranged marriage, a troubled relationship, and the bizarre entry into the couple's
timeline of a rap group with delusions of grandeur. She clearly found friendship amongst this group
of men who were themselves somewhat deluded in thinking that they were much more violent
than they actually were. They all went out drinking together, became friends together.
And I think they all fancied themselves as, listen, you want to kill him? We can sort that if you like.
There's a big difference with the American gang culture and the British rap gang culture.
Acting as if they were something from Los Angeles and Compton and all that sort of business when, in fact,
they're from Rotherham. NARRATOR: What parts did the South Yorkshire group play in events which culminated in takeaway chef
Nawajid Khan fighting for his life, after being hit by a 4 by 4 car? This wasn't a fatal road traffic accident.
This was certainly something far more sinister. It really makes my stomach turn to think that someone could have done
this to any other human being. NARRATOR: Also, there, the night of a murder masquerading as an accident, the wife of Nawajid Khan, Faria.
Khan is definitely not an innocent in this. She is not a battered woman just responding
to save her own life. NARRATOR: Investigators would soon have to unravel the lies and loves of two
people born on different continents and hailing from different worlds. [theme music]
Nawajid and Faria Khan married by family arrangement in Pakistan 1999. Faria had been living the teenage life of a girl
from her native Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. At 19, to have a marriage arranged for you, and then
to travel over to Pakistan to meet your husband for the first time on your wedding day,
that's a huge culture shock. TONY KENT: Well, this girl from South Yorkshire was taken from one environment, one culture,
and put into a completely different culture and one which, unlike the United Kingdom,
is not overly accepting of people who deviate from that culture. The odds are really against her.
This is a girl who's grown up in the UK. She's seen the way that people have choices.
The idea of being put in a position without power, that's automatically going to cause her deep distress.
She was clearly not prepared for it. And nor was she prepared to accept it. NARRATOR: Detectives accept that her husband,
Nawajid, would have struggled from the culture clash, too. This was a fairly quiet guy.
She was very westernized and clearly must have clashed because, you know, she was totally
different to his culture, and his culture was totally different to her culture, really.
FAEEZA VAID MBE: Each spouse comes from a different country, from a different culture.
There will be things that arise which may cause problems within the marriage. NARRATOR: In 2000, just months after their marriage,
the couple moved to England. Luckily, for Faria, she didn't have to stay in Pakistan for very long.
STEVE WHITTAKER: He came over from a rural part of Pakistan. And he was thrust into this western world,
really, with a really westernized wife. And I think the two just clearly never got on from day one.
Of the two, it was Faria who got to come back and live in the environment, in the culture that she was happier
with, more comfortable with. He actually left his culture. He left it-- all he knew was Pakistan.
NARRATOR: There were implications for the marriage because of the couple's cultural differences.
While she had been willing to wear the burqa in Pakistan in the traditional way many women do,
Faria now refused to do the same in Sheffield. In Pakistan, it makes sense to some degree,
because she might have had some issues being a westerner and not wearing that. It might have been seen as a cultural slur, to some degree,
and invited problems for her. When she comes back to the UK, he demands that she wears one again.
And she doesn't want to. She wanted more of a western lifestyle. She didn't want to be caught in the usual constraints
of a traditional marriage. She didn't want to wear a burqa. She wanted a bit more freedom.
NARRATOR: Nawajid would have been surprised at his wife's cultural tastes, which included liking the little
known Dem Boyz rappers group. There was something Faria said she objected to about his behavior.
She claimed that Nawajid insisted she conform to his values, even in England. She was required to wear full Islamic dress.
We are told by her that he became extremely Islamically fundamental, in the sense
that she had to wear a burqa. She could not mix with her own family. She had to obey what her husband said.
NAZIR AFZAL: Most, the vast majority of Muslim women would wear a hijab, which means covering your hair.
And a lot-- many, many thousands now would not wear either. So, you know, it's a very diverse faith.
And people wear what they want to wear. There's no strict rule anymore. People do what they feel comfortable.
NARRATOR: But was it true that Faria was ordered by Nawajid to wear full Islamic dress?
We have to say that there's a possibility that that's right. What would be wrong would be to just accept that on face value.
I think it's clear that Khan was a really complex person and had dealt with a whole range of issues.
I don't think Khan was the innocent that she would have us believe. It may well be that we can call her an unreliable
narrator, can't we? NARRATOR: One day it would be the job of a jury to distinguish what is true and not true
about the life Faria Khan said she led and the nature of the relationship with her husband, Nawajid.
She always claimed to have been tightly controlled by a traditionalist Muslim. But investigators did not recognize
that description of Nawajid. Everyone we spoke to, probably from where he worked
or anybody that really knew him, he didn't really know many people. He was a bit a quiet guy, really.
He came over from a rural part of Pakistan. And he was sort of thrust into this western world,
really, with a really westernized wife. And I think the two just clearly never got on from day one.
This was a very quiet guy. She was very westernized. And they clearly must have clashed because, you know,
she was totally different to his culture, and his culture was totally different to her cultural,
really. NARRATOR: Faria claims Nawajid would enforce his strict views with violence if necessary.
Faria tells people that she is beaten by Nawajid, and she's beaten from the early days.
NARRATOR: Detectives investigating events couldn't find evidence that she'd been beaten.
But they did hear how Faria felt unhappy. She didn't like the normal things that she--
I think she was expected to like or maybe what her husband may have wanted her to like.
Khan was unhappy. And maybe Nawajid was quite a traditional husband. And Khan was used to a bit more freedom.
Did they have an ideal relationship? Possibly not, no. The cynic in me thinks, did she make
things up to make it worse? I think she did. NARRATOR: The couple lived on the south side of Sheffield.
STEVE WHITTAKER: And they lived in an area of Sheffield called Donald, a suburb of Sheffield,
and a bit of a chaotic lifestyle, really. They have chaotic house, lots of clutter within the house.
NARRATOR: Nawajid became a chef at the Mangla Restaurant, Spital Hill. And he was working every hour that was available--
that work was available. He came across as a-- you know, I think everyone we spoke
to said he was a nice guy. He was a guy that worked in a restaurant to try and make ends meet.
He was a worker and I think all-around nice chap, really. NARRATOR: Over the next few years,
the couple had two children. Nawajid moved to Milan's Takeaway in Chesterfield Road,
Heeley. But behind closed doors, all was not well. What Faria tells us is that as well as doing that,
he became a monster. Effectively, she claims that he was making her live a Pakistani life in South Yorkshire.
NARRATOR: By 2007, the clash of cultures was forcing a crisis in their marriage.
She was very westernized, into sort of rock bands. And she had got different friends, again, were
all westernized people her age. When you add cultural stereotypes and societal stereotypes of what women should be in these roles,
that creates a really unhealthy relationship. NARRATOR: Faria claims that Nawajid's attacks on her
included one in which he threw a brick at her head and another in which he punched her while she was pregnant.
Khan says of her marriage that Nawajid was quite violent, controlling, abusive. And it's more than possible that she was
telling the truth about that. NARRATOR: There are those who believed the Khans' marriage
was not necessarily as Faria painted it, including Sheffield detective, Steve Whittaker.
Actually, Nawajid was coming to work, complaining of being assaulted by her. He was coming to work with injuries.
He was coming to work with black eyes. He was coming to work with scratches on his face.
And he was saying it was her that was attacking him. EMMA KENNY: When people were asked about Nawajid,
you know, most people said that he was a really great guy. He was somebody who worked very hard.
He was very kind. He was one of those people that was a pleasure to have around.
He never really put a foot wrong. And it was her that was the abuser. And it was her that was causing problems.
NARRATOR: Faria Khan had woven a tale about her violent, abusive husband. There was no evidence to support the claims.
I would describe her as not a nice person, really. The interviews that we had with her and throughout the court
process, she wasn't a nice individual, sort of a manipulative person, really. That was my thought throughout, really.
Khan is definitely not an innocent in this. She is not a battered woman just responding
to save her own life. NARRATOR: Arranged by their families, there were some very inconvenient truths
about the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Khan. This was a kind, nice guy. This was a really nice guy who, unfortunately, you know,
married the devil. NARRATOR: In 2007, Faria Khan told friends that she was being subjected to coercive
control, forced to wear something she felt alien to her. She didn't want to wear a burka.
She wanted a bit more freedom. NARRATOR: She claimed she was being subjected to violence at Nawajid's hands.
It obviously got to the stage where she was very unhappy and may have been being assaulted because she
went and got a restraining order against him, and it was awarded. She was given a restraining order.
NARRATOR: Nawajid denied the allegations. It's really difficult for us to speculate what
exactly was going on in this marriage in terms of domestic abuse. NARRATOR: Facts were hard to come by,
but a court backed Faria. I think she got a fraught relationship with Nawajid. And yeah, that could've manifested itself
into a non-molestation order. I accept that. A non-molestation order being taken out is not something
that someone would do lightly. NARRATOR: The order meant that Nawajid had to move
out of the family house. Nawajid and Khan are both complex characters. I don't think that they are one-dimensional.
I don't think he was one-dimensionally bad. And I don't think she was one-dimensionally bad.
I think it was a bad pairing, that they didn't get on together. Perhaps he was violent.
She certainly got that restraining order against him. But I don't think it was a case of one's really good
and one's really bad. This is a complex situation. NARRATOR: Faria claimed that knowledged
intended to burn down their house where she now lived without him. But investigators later found no evidence of the abuse that she
claimed, physical or verbal. She lied about much, though. You didn't really know what was the truth and what wasn't.
NARRATOR: Either way, nine years after they married, Faria wanted out. By 2008, Faria has decided that this marriage has to end.
NARRATOR: In January that year, Faria files for divorce. But even a legal separation seemed not enough for her.
She tries to find a less legitimate way out of the marriage. NARRATOR: Less than two weeks after submitting
divorce papers, Faria confided in a teenage friend. STEVE WHITTAKER: She'd met a girl
called Kauser, Neelam Kauser. She was a bit of a nobody who fancied herself as somebody with gangster friends
and Khan was a friend of hers. NARRATOR: Faria told the 18-year-old that she was
the victim of domestic abuse. This conversation grew and quite quickly became quite dangerous.
As she's becoming more and more desperate, she ends up speaking to a friend of hers
and tells her that the domestic abuse has been happening, that she's scared and the fact that she
can't help but wish that he wasn't in her life anymore. This was her being manipulative again and continue
to be manipulative. NARRATOR: Faria Khan was laying the groundwork for something
more permanent than divorce. Khan starts to plan that she's going to kill Nawajid.
And she's going to kill with the help of this friend and her friends. (SINGING) It's like fire burning up.
NARRATOR: Kauser soon introduced Faria to her boyfriend, Brian Yorachi, a member of a rap group.
STEVE WHITTAKER: And these all thought they were something they really weren't, really.
These were people who went out partying and drinking, a band called Dem Boyz. This group of young men seemed to live
in a bit of a fantasy land. They were quite popular at the time on YouTube and on Myspace and those things.
But they never achieved any real notoriety outside of this case. It was quite laughable, really, of the way
that they were. There's a big difference with the American gang culture and the British rap gang culture.
Acting as if they were something from Los Angeles and Compton and all that sort of business when, in fact,
they're from Rotherham. American gang culture has firearms and access to firearms
and is well known for using firearms regularly and for hurting and harming people.
British gang culture is not the same thing. NARRATOR: Despite the Dem Boyz delusions of violent grandeur,
Neelam Kauser, Faria Khan's new friend, suggested the rappers could help. I think they all fancied themselves as, listen,
we can sort that fear, almost, like, a childlike response to some of these, look, I'm in a loveless marriage.
Well, if you want him dead, we can sort it because we're the rap band. NARRATOR: Faria met the gang in Rotherham,
and a plot was hatched. When Khan and her friends get together, and they start talking about what ostensibly was probably
about freeing Khan from this terrible situation that she was in with Nawajid, it escalated a bit too quickly.
She clearly found friendship amongst this group of men, who are themselves somewhat deluded in thinking
that they were a lot more violent than they actually were. Khan might have exaggerated her living conditions,
the way her marriage was, and the things that were going on, to gain that sympathy and that buy-in.
So for these young men, they may well have considered themselves knights in shining armor.
She clearly built a built a strong enough relationship with these men to be able to, in her view, trust them.
NARRATOR: Faria offered to pay them for services she wanted them to render-- kill Nawajid.
A ridiculously small sum of money. I mean, I've dealt with hit men who've been paid tens of thousands of pounds to carry out the act.
These guys were happy to do it for 200 quid, which tells you that they were perhaps doing it for their own esteem.
That this-- if they were involved in this, somehow they would feel stronger, and perhaps their view--
people's view of them would change. And they would be seen as people to be scared of.
Unfortunately, for these poor boys, they seem like they think they're going to fail.
They seem to think that they are the heroes in their own TV show. NARRATOR: Why would Faria Khan not simply wait for divorce?
The question has to be asked, isn't it, why would somebody go to those extremes?
Why would she not just leave him? NARRATOR: Was she concerned about how a failed marriage would look?
Yes, there's stigma in communities and in society around divorce. However, an Islamic marriage allows
you to get divorced from your husband, as does the UK law. And so, divorce was certainly an option for her,
which would have given her that final separation from her former partner. NARRATOR: But Faria wanted more than separation.
Faria arranged to have their home transferred into her brother's name. NARRATOR: Lawyer and crime writer Tony Kent believes
he understands Faria's actions. Under Islamic law, it's not cut and dry that a widow inherits everything that her late husband leaves
to her. However, if the property is transferred into another man's name, and then that man has to transfer it back
after the death of the husband, well, of course, then she will get it all. She clearly felt that she needed
or deserved more than she would get if she was divorced. And so it was the money issue that drove her.
NARRATOR: Next, Faria went to some lengths to keep her identity secret as she bought the murder weapon--
a car. The car used was a white Frontera that had been actually purchased to being bought a few days
before by Khan and her sister. And they bought it in a false name with cash. It was a big, big car, certainly not the car you'd
expect a car to be driving. Quite an intimidating-looking car. She's a dangerous woman.
She took way too many steps that would be just impossible for a normal person to take.
Why would you buy a car like this? This is not a car that you buy to pop to local shops.
And this was a big car. And with all due respect, she was quite a small lady. That vehicle was bought for one purpose.
It was bought with the intention to kill her husband. NARRATOR: With a 4 by 4 big enough
to accommodate the whole rap group, Faria took Dem Boyz on a reconnaissance trip
to rehearse the murder of her husband. It's their belief that she is the woman she
is portraying herself to be. She is the victim of this monstrous husband. And they are coming to her rescue.
We didn't leave any stone unturned at that time. So, you know, I think they got a sense of arrogance they were
just going to get away with it. NARRATOR: Nawajid Khan was a marked man with a contract
out on his life, a contract taken by his wife. Her intention was at some stage to drag him off the street with the help of Dem Boyz, the band.
And they were going to kill him, strangle him, suffocate him, stab him. NARRATOR: Around 5:00 PM on Sunday, January 27,
Nawajid Khan was walking to work with a colleague. It was just getting dark. And he's walking to her to open up the restaurant,
what they did most evenings. NARRATOR: The streets were busier than usual for a winter's evening.
There was a football game. It was extra special busy because on that day, Sheffield United were playing Manchester City
in a FA Cup fifth round match that was being broadcast live on TV. So it was really, really busy with football fans,
two big clubs, 30,000 fans, stadium full. NARRATOR: Out of nowhere, the gang struck.
He is set upon by two members of the rap group. And the rappers really felt like they were being heroes,
rescuing Khan from this terrible situation. And I think that's what got them involved.
They got the rough guys to do this, the band. They're armed with bats and an axe.
They attack him, and he fights back. He's no shrinking violet. He's not just a victim.
He fights back. So does his friend. NARRATOR: As the two colleagues defended themselves
against the horrific attack, a white Vauxhall Frontera pulled up. Out jumped two more members of the rap group.
At this stage, it's four on two. And the four men are armed. NARRATOR: As well as the bats and axes,
the rappers were armed with hammers and knives to attack Faria Khan's husband. This is a really brutal, gruesome attack.
Nawajid tries his best to defend himself, but he's beaten, and he is forced into the road.
NARRATOR: Bloodied and beaten, Nawajid Khan had one final horror to overcome. He looked up to see the face of the driver of a large vehicle--
his wife and the mother of his two children. Little did he know that that was going to be the last movements he would ever make.
NARRATOR: Even with four young men brutally attacking him, Nawajid managed to break free.
They weren't as good as they said they were, which is why they couldn't finish the job.
NARRATOR: A job ordered by Faria Khan. STEVE WHITTAKER: She was director of operations,
and she took it on herself, actually, have messed up. I've employed the worst killers in the world.
You pay him when [inaudible] at 50 pound each. They hurt him, but didn't kill him.
And she decided to finish the job. They either lost their bottle at the end or they realized, actually, we're in too deep.
NARRATOR: The 4 by 4 appeared again at high speed. Faria has been sitting in the white Frontera.
One witness said she heard the rev of an engine that she'd never heard before, again, that sent,
like, a shiver down your spine. This car had really revved and really, really driven at it,
at some speed. She watches her husband fall into the road in front of her. As he's getting to his feet, she runs him down.
There's no doubt that the killing of Nawajid was horrific. NARRATOR: Witnesses described how the 4 by 4
mounted the pavement before mowing Nawajid down. The big soccer match in Sheffield
that night proved extremely helpful to detectives. They did it in front of quite a lot of fans, who
were decent people, who were driving, who were driving or passengers in cars, going to football,
or walking by, and were more than happy to assist the police and assist the investigation.
If I remember, 30, 40 witnesses came forward. She revved the car. And then the car seemed to go up like that where it
goes up in the air and lunges. She then stops the car, puts it in reverse, and reverses over her husband.
Faria actually runs him over and then reverses over him. As she does so, she's described
as being a woman possessed, and she's described even worse as chuckling, laughing
to herself as she reverses. She was enjoying it. It makes my stomach turn to think about the way she went
about putting things into action to ensure that this man was killed. Unfortunately, for Nawajid, he was laid in the front
[inaudible] of that car. NARRATOR: Nawajid Khan's body was crushed under the wheels
of the vehicle. They said mounted a pavement, and it had gone quite fast and hit Nawajid.
And Nawajid was killed unfortunately not instantly, but he was eventually killed by the front wheels of the car
actually on top of him. She made sure not only that he died because running him over
with that car would have sealed his fate, but that she had a part in sealing that fate.
NARRATOR: An arranged marriage which began with the hopes of two families had ended in a violent death.
Later, investigations did suggest that Nawajid had been, at least, in part, a victim
throughout the relationship. I think men are more afraid of coming forward when they are
the victims of abuse because there is a stereotype that this is only something that
happens to women. Unfortunately, that's not the reality. Men can also be victims of abuse, and in this case, sadly,
victims of murder. NARRATOR: The driver, described by witnesses as a short Muslim woman, ran off into the crowd.
What was caught on CCTV was people running away from the scene. And we got some grainy footage from a store that was open.
We got somebody fitting vaguely the description of Faria Khan seemed to be running away.
NARRATOR: Khan didn't just try to escape on foot. I think to cover her tracks, she got a taxi away
from a scene, then went shopping to the big shopping complex called Meadowhall near to Sheffield.
She thought that the police would probably think this was just a street fight that her husband had
got involved in. NARRATOR: In fact, the police didn't believe this was a random street fight, nor that Nawajid Khan
was the victim of a tragic road accident. This wasn't somebody crossing the road
and just, unfortunately, knocked over. This was sinister, to say the least. NARRATOR: Within hours, a major crime
investigation was underway. I got a phone call on a Sunday evening to tell me that I'll be going to work on a Monday.
I was a detective sergeant at the time on the murder investigation team within South Yorkshire.
And they said that there had been a road traffic accident. Initially, it was reported as a road traffic accident,
but it looked more sinister than that. NARRATOR: Despite Faria's attempts to disguise the purchase of the 4 by 4,
detectives had little trouble tracing the two women who'd bought it. We actually found out it was them.
We found out it was their phones used. And they got select picked out on what we call an identification parade by the owner of that car.
Inevitably, given the inept way this was carried out, Faria Khan was arrested very quickly.
NARRATOR: Police had to establish that Faria was in the driving seat when the car smashed into her husband.
We had to prove quite a lot. We had quite a few officers, probably that time, probably 20 or so officers.
NARRATOR: The detectives would learn that Faria Khan had successfully applied for a restraining
order against her husband, that she had complained of suffering violence at his hands, of being forced to conform
to values she did not hold. The apparent murder of Nawajid Khan would prove to be far from a simple case.
Under interrogation, Faria was initially calm, reserved. She had no comment at all throughout all the interviews,
and then suddenly at the end, started to speak. And she proceeded to tell the police a tissue of lies.
So the overwhelming evidence that we've built up over a few days against her, you know,
she'd only got one way out, really, which was, I'm a victim here. I'm a victim of domestic abuse.
NARRATOR: Faria Khan admitted meeting the rape gang. Yeah, I spoke to people. Yeah, I don't like him.
Yes, I may have wanted him dead. But that was just talk. And I wasn't even there.
NARRATOR: Her story was that she had driven the 4 by 4 to the location, but then walked away.
And she denied being there. She claimed that, in fact, a member of the rap crew was driving the car.
How she could know that, one wonders. It wasn't until we got to trial later on that she
did change her defense further. NARRATOR: Unfortunately, for Faria Khan, she wasn't the only person being quizzed by detectives.
We had a big arrest day, where myself and another colleague of mine interviewed quite a few
of the individuals that day. NARRATOR: And among the interviewees, the original go-between who had introduced Faria to the gang.
Neelam Kauser was-- she was quite forthcoming about [inaudible] forthcoming. This was a girl.
She was 17 years of age. She'd never been in trouble with the police before. And she told us who was in the car--
a little naivety on her part. She told who was in the car. She had told us what people were doing in that car.
So they were charged quite quickly. NARRATOR: The trial of Faria Khan and members
of the rap group began at Sheffield Crown Court in October 2008. When presented with the overwhelming amount of evidence
and evidence of co-accused, she had no option but to change her tune at court really.
NARRATOR: Faria's new line of defense sounded familiar to the officers who had quizzed
her during the investigation. Khan claimed to everyone that she was the victim of some awful, terrible control, violence,
and abuse. Whether that's true or not, well, that's questionable, isn't it? Because we only have her word for it.
She played the victim card. And I was convinced as can be as an officer of 32 years,
that, you know, she wasn't a victim. The only victim in this, unfortunately, is Nawajid.
She may have been subjected to domestic violence and coercive control. But she went further than merely trying to protect herself.
NARRATOR: Neelam Kauser's boyfriend, Brian Yorachi, told the trial that he'd felt sorry for Faria
after her tales of domestic abuse. Crucially, Yorachi also stated unequivocally that Faria Khan had been driving when the car hit Nawajid.
I mean, quite clearly, it was Faria Khan who was driving the car at the time. She was the one who drove over her husband.
It wasn't the rap band. NARRATOR: The prosecution argued that Faria masterminded
the whole thing and stepped in after the band couldn't go through with the killing.
And they realized flipping out, we're making a big mistake here. I still don't know that, really, to be fair.
And she was the one who, like, leave it to me, boys, and I'll do it. NARRATOR: There is a defense that partners can use when one
has killed the other, the so-called slow burn mitigation, which reduces a murder charge to manslaughter.
If one of the partners has suffered years of abuse and suddenly snaps, they can argue a sort of self-defense.
This applies mainly to domestic abuse. So a victim who's absolutely terrified of their attacker
and dare not try and defend themselves at the time can have this slow burn where they get more and more and more
frightened and feel they've got to do something about it to protect themselves. NARRATOR: With the defense of self-protection on the table,
detectives still have to prove that Faria Khan was guilty of murdering her husband.
For this guy to receive the injuries he got, the way that Nawajid died was quite clearly--
it was a murder. NARRATOR: But would a jury agree who had been the leading mind behind the murder?
Had a wife killed her husband? At the heart of the case against Faria Khan was premeditation.
English law offers a defense to a victim of years of abuse, who might have snapped and retaliated.
It's called the slow burn defense. What makes that defense difficult is evidence of planning.
This wasn't a spur of the moment, I don't like my husband, and I think I'm just going to knock him over and cause him some injuries.
They had planned this for a long, long time prior to this. NARRATOR: Faria had collected weapons for the murder--
evidence of premeditation. They bought the axes from a B&Q store, again, a couple of days before.
They bought a petrol can a couple of days before from the same store, where they bought these big two
brand new orange axes, which, again, very sinister for me, what their intention was to drug him,
get him into the car, get him away, chop him up, and set him on fire. NARRATOR: Something else that would
prove crucial to the trial. What blew this investigation wide open for us was a mobile phone that was found in the car.
NARRATOR: The phone belonged to the go-between, Neelam Kauser. That took us to all the text messages.
It took us to who she'd been contacting, including the band, Dem Boyz. That was a golden nugget.
The text messages are incredibly incriminating. We have to make sure this is done.
Have to make sure this is done properly, et cetera, et cetera. STEVE WHITTAKER: It caused their downfall, really.
But we found some quite incriminating text messages where they had been to his house and sent
a text message that said he's just put something in the bin outside. So he was having his house watched, again,
which makes it more sinister. There are also messages between members of the group
or a member of the group and Faria's friend, in which Faria's friend is telling them, come on, you've got a charge
at least 200. You've got to charge at least 200. This is a man's life. If it wasn't so tragic, it would
be laughable to pay somebody 250 or 200 pound to kill somebody else. It's beyond tragic, isn't it, really.
NARRATOR: From the 4 by 4, police turned up yet more damning evidence. In the Frontera was a bandanna,
which presumably comes from one of the rap group. Also in the Frontera was a knife.
But we found a knife in the car. Let's go back to where she lives and see if there's any knives
that match that knife. NARRATOR: The search would prove conclusive. There was a knife on the side.
And the knife block contained five knives. There was a hole for the sixth knife.
And this was the same knife that we found in the car. So, again, this was fantastic evidence for us, really,
really good evidence for us, and quite damning evidence for Khan. NARRATOR: Finally, as Steve Whittaker
revealed to the court, the 4 by 4 yielded its most horrific find. In the boot of the Vauxhall Frontera was
two leather axe head covers. We initially wondered what these were. These axe head covers transpired belonged to two axes that were
bought in a pack two axes with orange handles that were bought from a B&Q. They weren't buying
axes to chop some wood up. They weren't buying axes to chop a Christmas tree down.
They were buying these axes to use in the killing of Khan's husband. We believed and I believed that they
were going to grab Nawajid. They were going to get him to the car. And he was going to meet the end by being
chopped up with the axes and then set on fire. NARRATOR: [inaudible] against the weight of police evidence,
Faria's story that she was the real victim in the case. She told the jury at her trial that she was under his control,
that she was required to wear full Islamic dress, and that that was the reason why she was being abused by him.
STEVE WHITTAKER: We wouldn't be human if we didn't-- even as police officers-- have some sympathy for a woman
that's been abused and that turns on her abuser. Of course, there's going to be sympathy.
Of course, there's going to be reason to why they do that. But in this case, my sense is, and I think the entire team's
senses were, well, actually, the victim here is the person who's been murdered. If she had not attended the scene, if she had not
fraudulently got that car, if she had not run him over, maybe, maybe her story would hold more water.
It would probably be simpler for her to have carried out the act herself and say this was the culmination of years
of abuse, and I just couldn't take it anymore, which is one of the reasons why I suspect a jury thought,
well, you didn't do that. You went to this group of rappers and said, here's 200 quid.
You do it for me, which somehow suggests somebody much more cold, much more calculated.
JANE MONCKTON SMITH: She got the murderers to the scene. And then she participated in the violence herself.
This isn't just somebody who simply is a really nice person who just was trying to protect themselves.
She's more dangerous than that. She concocted this story in order to try and persuade the jury that she
was a victim of domestic abuse. NARRATOR: A story a jury had to consider. STEVE WHITTAKER: And it was quite
a hard trial, lots of things thrown at us throughout the trial. I was personally accused of trying
to intimidate one of the accused by lying to her, which was nonsense. And the judge saw through that.
NARRATOR: What would the verdict be? STEVE WHITTAKER: Were the jury going to sympathize with her?
I hope not. Were they going to think, oh, so she's a victim. He deserves to die.
I hope not. But you never know until the jury comes back. NARRATOR: The verdict returned by the jury
was that Faria Khan was guilty of murdering her husband. Faeeza Khan, who campaigns for the rights of Muslim women,
believes they got it right. The killing of Nawajid was brutal and certainly premeditated.
And the odds are low did she intend to commit grievous bodily harm, or did she intend to kill him on that day?
And the jury saw through that. So it was-- we're quite elated, really. She murdered him in cold blood when there were so
many other courses of action that she could have taken to protect her and to ensure
that he was still breathing. Whether to celebrate or drink that night, let me tell ya,
and it was a good day. It was a good day for Nawajid's family and his friends, really,
who was quite upset, obviously, that this was a nice guy that worked hard for a living and had been killed
in such a barbaric way, really. NARRATOR: Convicted of murder, Faria Khan was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 20 years.
So the judge summed it quite ideally when he said, I don't believe the lies that you've
peddled throughout this court. Regardless of Khan's backgrounds and the complexities in her life,
the fact is that Khan committed a murder. Even though Faria Khan may have been horribly abused
by her husband, even if she felt that she'd been terribly treated, the idea of meeting fire with fire
seems completely inappropriate. NARRATOR: Three gang members were also found guilty of negligence, murder, and sent to prison.
One of them was Neelam Kauser, the teenager who had brought the killer to the Dem Boyz rappers.
She just went along with it, again, to play up to this bit of a silly image of, look at those,
we're going out killing people. So, again, tragic is not the word, really. NARRATOR: The other two rappers from the gang
were jailed for conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm and conspiracy to kidnap.
These aren't seasoned criminals. These are young boys trying to be men, really. And they did every-- they made every mistake in the book,
really. When sentencing, the judge was very critical of the members of the rap group for their willingness
to get involved in a crime such as this and for the fact that they seemed to be doing so merely
to gain respect within a fantasy world in which they lived. Anybody who's stupid enough to sign up to murder somebody
who they don't really know, and they're going to be stupid enough to want to do it for 50 pound each,
gives you a general idea of we're not talking the brains of Britain here. We're talking silly boys who just decided to get
in up to their neck, really. To kill someone for 200 pounds, these people were not thinking straight.
She paid the money to amateurs to assist. And it was the amateurs that, dare I say,
let Khan down, really. On one level, clearly, they are violent. On another level, it's potentially
that they really feel it and sensed that this is a man who's beating a woman. And they buy into that story and narrative.
And so they're playing heroes. NARRATOR: For the investigation team, the verdict had brought justice.
We've got a fantastic result for the family and a lot of the family to sort of move on.
What makes it more tragic and sinister in this investigation is that they hunted him down like a set of dogs
or like a pack of dogs, really. NARRATOR: The real reason, the truth of why Faria Khan had killed her husband is hard to establish.
It's really difficult to speculate about why Khan actually did what she did. Ultimately, for me, that's irrelevant.
She committed a crime and the worst of crimes. I still don't know whether it was a cultural thing of,
should I get divorced or shouldn't I get divorced? To organize your husband's death is terrible.
But that's a different level from being the one who deals the final blow. And that's what she did.
She wanted to be there to watch him injured, tortured. And then she wanted to be the one who murdered him.
She just got desperate that she just wanted her husband for whatever reason. And we still never got to that reason.
Probably just hatred of, I want him out of the way. [music playing] [hip hop music]

Wanting rid of the husband she hated, Faria Khan launched a murderous plot involving a group of wannabe rappers.

Though wedded couples vow to stay together until death do they part, this new true crime series looks at what happens when a groom or bride causes their beloved's death.

Brief Summary

Faria Khan orchestrated her husband Nawajid's murder with a rap group after claiming domestic abuse in their troubled marriage.

Key points

Cultural Clash. Faria Khan's marriage faced turmoil due to stark cultural differences.
A Sinister Plot. Faria Khan plots to kill her husband with the help of a rap group.
The Attack. Nawajid Khan is violently attacked by members of the rap group.
Brutal Attack on Nawajid Khan. Nawajid Khan faces a brutal attack from a group of armed men.
Faria Khan's Shocking Actions. Faria Khan runs over her husband, Nawajid, in a horrific act of violence.
Faria Khan's Guilty Verdict. Faria Khan is found guilty of murdering her husband, Nawajid Khan.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

She wanted a bit more freedom.

Faria's desire for autonomy in her life and marriage.

4:43WatchJun 8, 2022

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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