

'Monster' stabbed sisters 37 times A man who repeatedly stabbed two sisters in their Birmingham flat, turning it into a "cauldron of blood", has been jailed for life. Mohammed Ali, 29, of Old Snow Hill, used three knives to kill on-off girlfriend Yasmine Larbi-Cherif, 22, and her sister Sabrina, 19, last year. Ali, whose own barrister described him as a "hateful individual", must serve a minimum of 34 years. A judge rejected Ali's claim that he was provoked into the killings. The sisters' bodies were found in their flat in the Jupiter complex. During the trial at Birmingham Crown Court, jurors heard Ali, who stabbed both women in the lounge before dragging their bodies into a bedroom, described as an "evil monster". You barbarically and brutally butchered these two girls

Mr Justice Hamblen The court heard Yasmine, a salsa dancer originally from Algeria, had also undergone "a beating" in the attack last September. Ali claimed he was provoked after Yasmine had laughed at him about the time he had spent in prison on remand after she made an allegation of rape against him which was later withdrawn. Ali's claim that he had been provoked was rejected (photo: Caters) She had become pregnant by him twice, resulting in two terminations, the trial heard. Sentencing Ali, who was not in court, Mr Justice Hamblen at the Royal Courts of Justice in London said: "You barbarically and brutally butchered these two girls, turning their flat into a cauldron of blood. "This wasn't a case of provocation. "It was a case of anger and retribution in the case of Yasmine and of cover-up in the case of Sabrina." The court had heard that on 14 September Ali stabbed Yasmine twice and her sister 35 times before dragging their bodies into a bedroom. Bloodstained clothes He twice went into the kitchen to rearm himself after breaking two of the knives. Ali was captured on CCTV leaving their flat in Ryland Street carrying a bag thought to contain his bloodstained clothes. He was arrested two days later at a ferry terminal in Dover, Kent, trying to leave for France. He originally arrived in the UK as an Iraqi asylum seeker, but had told friends he was Moroccan. In mitigation, defence barrister Michael Bromley-Martin QC told the court Ali had led a difficult life before his arrival in Britain in 1999 and called him a "troubled, if not damaged" man. Det Ch Supt David Mirfield, of West Midlands Police, said he was pleased with the sentence which had brought to a close months of investigation and hard work.



Bookmark with: Delicious

Digg

reddit

Facebook

StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable version