Man accused of killing pregnant wife on Edinburgh's Arthur's seat described her as a 'disease'

A man’s description of his wife as being like a “disease” was “relevant to his state of mind” in the moments before he allegedly murdered her, a court has heard.

Alex Prentice KC said the evidence presented in the case against Kashif Anwar ,29, showed he killed pregnant Fawziyah Javed, 31, on Arthur’s Seat in September 2021.

The advocate depute told the High Court in Edinburgh that the only “just verdict” available to the jury was to convict the accused of murder.

Mr Prentice was speaking on the sixth day of proceedings against Anwar, of Leeds, who denies murdering Ms Javed by pushing her from height on the hill on September 2 2021.

He gave his closing speech moments after defence advocate Ian Duguid KC told judge Lord Beckett that his client wouldn’t be giving evidence.

Mr Prentice told the jury that if they considered all the evidence which had been led in the case, they could be satisfied of Anwar’s guilt.

The solicitor advocate pointed to evidence which has been led during proceedings about what Anwar allegedly said to his wife.

Mr Prentice made reference to evidence led during the trial in which Ms Javed said to witnesses moments after falling that her husband pushed her.

He added: “We heard about how if one of them died in childbirth, of how good that be. We also heard of how he said she was a disease in everybody’s life and of how he said to her ‘the sooner you are dead or the sooner you are out of everybody’s life the better.’

“I say that is relevant to his state of mind when he was on Arthur’s Seat and it is relevant to Fawziyah Javed’s last words as she lay there dying on the slopes of Arthur’s Seat.”

Mr Prentice also urged jurors to consider evidence led during the trial about the couple’s relationship saying it was relevant to the prosecution.

He urged them to consider evidence which showed that Ms Javed contacted a firm of solicitors in the months before she died to seek advice about getting divorce.

Mr Prentice also asked the jury to consider evidence given by Ms Javed’s mother about how if her daughter texted ‘I need cream cakes’.

The court heard that Ms Javed’s mother said that she if she received that text, she would treat as a sign that she was in danger of being abused by Mr Anwar.

Mr Prentice added: “If you consider the evidence as a whole – not in isolation, you will be able to see that this was a controlling, abusive and increasingly volatile relationship.”

“She wanted to end the relationship. He said that if she wanted to end the relationship he would ruin her.

“I urge you to probe and examine the evidence and conclude that she was deliberately pushed by Mr Anwar and I suggest to you that the only just verdict in this case would be one of guilty to the charge of murder.”

Mr Prentice said the evidence in the case also showed that Anwar controlled and “suffocated” his wife.

He added: “The picture is one of the transformation of a gregarious, bright, sociable woman into somebody who was suffocated and dominated by Kashif Anwar in all respects of her life.”

Mr Prentice urged jurors to find the accused guilty of murder.

He added: “I invite you to find Kashif Anwar guilty of murder.”

Defence advocate Ian Duguid KC urged jurors to acquit his client of murder. He told them that Anwar came “across as a horrible person” during the presentation of the evidence.

Mr Duguid said he could understand if the jury sympathised with Ms Javed as the evidence showed she was a “perfectly respectable woman.”

However, the advocate told the jury that they had to put such feelings aside.

He said that the jury didn’t have any direct evidence as to what actually happened whilst the couple were on Arthur’s Seat.

He added: “You have no evidence about what happened on the hill. You have no eyewitness telling about what happened. And yet the prosecution are telling you to find him guilty.

“You are being asked to take a massive guess. It’s on the basis of a massive guess that you are being asked to convict him of murder.”

Anwar is alleged to have pushed Ms Javed from height at Arthur’s Seat causing her to fall resulting in her sustaining multiple blunt force injuries and being so severely injured that she died there.

It is also alleged as part of the murder charge that in consequence he caused the death of her unborn child.

Mr Anwar has entered a not guilty plea to the charge.