Sons deny murdering mother in 2015 at inquest

A son who was charged with his mother's murder nearly 10 years ago has told her inquest he was a "mummy's boy".

Mumtaz Member, 56, was found dead with blunt force injuries to her head, neck and face in her home in Stoneygate, Leicester, on 12 December 2015.

Her two sons Mohammed and Shafiq Member, along with Shafiq's wife Fatima, were charged with her murder but the charges were dropped in February 2016 due to "insufficient evidence".

On Thursday at Leicester Coroner's Court, the brothers denied killing their mother as they gave evidence.

Mumtaz was "unrecognisable" when she was discovered, covered in bruises and lacerations, with teeth missing, the inquest has heard.

A pathologist said she had suffered a "traumatic brain injury".

The inquest, which began on Monday, is a finding of fact hearing to determine how Mrs Member came about her death - not to find fault.

Under rule 22 of the Coroners (Inquests) Rules 2013, a witness to an inquest can refuse to answer a question that might incriminate them.

Mohammed, who was 25 when his mother died, told the inquest they had a good relationship, saying she looked after him and cleaned up after him, and described himself as "a mummy's boy".

The inquest heard on 11 December 2015 - the night before Mumtaz was found dead - Mohammed had been out with a friend.

He said he returned home before his mum and let her into the house later that night when she returned home from her in-laws' house, where she had been staying following her father-in-law's death.

He recalled waking up late for work at 08:58 GMT the following morning and rushing to get ready while his brother was already at work.

Meanwhile, his father Ibrahim had returned home to find Mumtaz dead and was crying in the bedroom, he said.

Moments later, Mohammed's father told him his mum had died, while standing in the hallway with what he said was blood on his hands, before Mohammed entered the bedroom himself.

"Something wasn't right. There was blood everywhere. I was in there for no more than five seconds. I just needed air - I didn't know what was going on," he said.

When asked why he called his brother instead of the police, he said: "Because this is not normal - I don't know what's going on.

"The only person I ever turn to whenever I need any advice or anything is my brother. He was the closest person to me."

Both brothers said they were only made aware their mum had been brutally killed at the point of their arrest.

The inquest also heard they were not able to attend their mum's funeral while being held in custody.

In his police interview, Mohammed had told police Mumtaz was the "kind of person" who upon being attacked, "her face would just go down" and that she would "just pray".

He told police: "She wouldn't scream, my mum wasn't a screamer."

When asked how he would know that, he told the court his mum was "a soft person" but added he had never seen her being attacked.

Mohammed said he "absolutely" did not think his brother, or sister-in-law Fatima, were responsible for his mum's murder and denied covering for anybody involved.

When asked if he had any idea of who could have done this, he cried as he said: "I have been racking my brain for the last 10 years trying to find that answer."

The court heard Mohammed previously expressed a belief his mother had been "professionally killed".

Mumtaz's eldest son Shafiq also began giving evidence on Thursday.

He and his wife Fatima had been the first to arrive to the house in Holmfield Avenue with their baby son that night, the court heard.

He told the court that he did not see anything out of the ordinary when he arrived home, that he did not hear either Mohammed or his mum return that night and he did not know his mum was home.

When he left for work the following morning, he said "everything seemed normal" apart from the side door, which the court heard could only be opened from the inside without a key.

He said it "looked closed" but was not.

After arriving at work later that morning, he received the call from his brother to return home and he recalled his wife taking the phone and saying "mum's gone".

Shafiq got home to family members and ambulance workers at the house and said he was told he could not enter the bedroom where his mother was.

"It was just a blur from there," he said.

In a statement, Shafiq said he was told there was "blood all over the walls".

When asked what was racing through his mind at that point, he replied: "That side door."

He added he mentioned the side door to the police "as soon as they arrived", and was trying to "encourage everyone not be around it" so officers could look at it.

The court has heard from several witnesses during the inquest that the side door to the house had been known to be faulty.

The inquest continues.

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