A married couple have been found guilty of stabbing their brother-in-law to death during a violent family fight after the heavily pregnant wife ordered her husband to ‘finish him’.
Mazammal Mahmood Butt, 27, was seen ‘running for his life’ and left alone in a pool of blood after the stabbing at the back of his flat in Lozells, West Birmingham, in November 2019.
The shopkeeper, affectionately known as ‘Zammy’, stumbled to a nearby street where he collapsed. He was pronounced dead before arriving at the hospital.
West Midlands Police said Mobeen Shahzad, the brother of Mr Butt’s wife, 28, and Sheridan Fitzsimmons, 29, were arguing with Mr Butt in the car park of the family butchers moments before the stabbing.
Shahzad was yesterday convicted of murder and Fitzsimmons was found guilty of manslaughter following a six-week trial at Coventry Crown Court.
Mobeen Shahzad (pictured left), the brother of Mr Butt’s wife, 28, was yesterday convicted of murder and Sheridan Fitzsimmons (right), 29, was found guilty of manslaughter
It was undisputed that Shahzad of Lozells, inflicted the fatal knife wound. However his legal case was that he only acted to defend Fitzsimmons, of Highgate, who at the time was heavily pregnant with their child.
Michelle Nelson QC, prosecuting, earlier told the court that the victim’s wife, Madihya Mazammal, came outside and was grabbed by Fitzsimmons who told Shahzad to ‘finish him’, reported Birmingham Live.
The court heard how one major bone of contention, particularly with Fitzsimmons, was the fact Mr Butt and his wife lived in the flat above the family business Mazammal Halal Meats, run by Shahzad, with their rent and bills covered by income from the butchers.
While in July 2019 police were called to a family fight in the premises, supposedly born out of a row over Mr Butt’s standards of work. But in the November that year matters escalated to new levels.
Fitzsimmons made an allegation about Mr Butt which sparked a showdown confrontation between the couples in the shop on November 16 – one day before the stabbing took place.
The defendant launched a mop at Mr Butt and called him a ‘b******’. Mrs Mazammal returned the foul-mouthed insult but extended it to her, Shahzad and their children.
The following day Fitzsimmons attended the shop to collect some meat for dinner. But at some point she, her husband, Mr Butt and Mrs Mazammal found themselves rowing and fighting with each other in the car park.
Shahzad claimed it was Mr Butt who brought the knife to the scene but that he wrestled it from his grasp.
He conceded he was still holding it and must have inflicted the fatal blow to his brother-in-law in the ‘little tussle’ between them that followed.
But he claimed he could not remember doing so and that it must have been an accident.
Mazammal Mahmood Butt (pictured above), 27, was stabbed at the back of his flat in Birmingham in 2019. He collapsed on a nearby street and was pronounced dead at the scene
Despite the best efforts from emergency services, Zammy was pronounced dead at the scene on November 17.
An hour later Shahzad and Fitzsimmons were stopped in their car by officers and Shahzad was arrested.
After being arrested his reply to officers was ‘okay, sound.’ Officers then searched the car and discovered a knife, police said. Fitzsimmons later carried out a Google search on how long a life sentence was following the arrest of her husband.
The jury also heard she had sent her husband a message before the murder advising him to delete previous chats as they could be ‘evidence of hurting Zammy’.
Speaking after the verdicts, Det Insp Jim Colclough from the Homicide Team, said: ‘This was a tragic case where a young man lost his life at the hands of two people who were family, two people who were intent on him coming to harm.
‘My thoughts are with Zammy’s family. I hope now they can find some comfort knowing that the pair responsible for his death have been brought to justice.’
The couple will be sentenced today.