Couple married in Islamic ceremony after she converted to the faith, court told

But their relationship was volatile and they argued after a party this year

Wife's body was then found with terrible injuries in a Yorkshire woodland

Her husband and his friend are on trial for murder. His mother also faces charge

A mother-of-four was brutally murdered by her husband after she continued to see a friend he forbade her from visiting, a court has heard.

Sinead Wooding, 26, was found dead in woodland in Leeds earlier this year. Her husband, Akshar Ali, is on trial for her murder.

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A court heard this week how Ms Wooding had converted to the Muslim faith before meeting Ali, who she married in an Islamic ceremony in February 2015.

But the couple had a 'volatile' relationship and Ali ordered her not to visit family members and a female friend, Leeds Crown Court heard.

Ali, 27, and his friend Yasmin Ahmed are on trial for murdering Ms Wooding in a knife and hammer attack. The victim's mother-in-law and brother-in-law are accused of helping to dispose of her body.

Sinead Wooding's was found dead with horrific injuries in woodland after she defied her husband's demands, a court heard

Ms Wooding's bod was found in woods near Alwoodley Crags car park in Leeds in May

The court heard Ms Wooding had started to convert to the Islamic faith and changed her name to Zakirah before she met Ali, who worked on a food stall at Leeds indoor market.

The court heard the couple signed a marriage contract after an Islamic Nikah ceremony in February 2015.

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Prosecutor Nicholas Campbell QC: 'It was a volatile and sometimes violent relationship.'

The court heard Ms Wooding and Ali, of Potternewton, Leeds, had argued after drinking during a party on Thursday May 11.

Police searched a number of properties in Leeds after Ms Wooding's body was found

A court heard Sinead's DNA was found on a cellar floor of one the defendant's homes

Her burnt body was then discovered in woodland in the Adel area of Leeds on Sunday May 14.

She had been stabbed several times and struck repeatedly about the head.

A Home Office pathologist concluded several skull fractures were caused by at least one claw hammer.

It is thought that before taking her body into the woods to set it ablaze it was kept for two days in Ahmed's cellar, the court heard.

Prosecutor Mr Campbell said a blood stain on the cellar floor along with numerous blood spots on walls matched Sinead's DNA.

A neighbour spotted two people loading the body of a mother-of-four wrapped in a carpet into a car, a jury was told.

Police teams look in drains during the search for evidence into the mother-of-four's killing

Student Lydia Gunning saw a man and a woman believed to be Ali and his friend Ahmed, dumping the body into the boot of a Volkswagen Golf, the court heard.

Ahmed was then seen driving away from Reginald Mount in Leeds, with Ali in the passenger's seat, the prosecutor said.

Ali and Ahmed both deny murder.

Ali's 45-year-old mother Aktahr Bi, of Leeds, denies assisting an offender by making arrangements to dispose of Sinead Wooding's corpse.

Ali's 21-year-old brother Asim Ali, Leeds, denies assisting an offender by procuring a vehicle and assisting in the disposal and burning of her body.

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Yasmin Ahmed's friend Vicky Briggs aged 25, of Leeds, denies assisting an offender by helping clean up and burn material after the murder.

The case continues.