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Teenager 'stabbed by four men' BBC Online, 7 November 2002 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/england/2415263.stm A Cambridgeshire 17-year-old was stabbed to death by four men as he walked back from work with his girlfriend, a court has heard. Ross Parker was attacked with a "very large" knife and a hammer after leaving the Peterborough pub where he worked in the early hours of the morning on 20 September 2001, Northampton Crown Court was told. Stephen Coward QC said the teenager fell to the ground and died of his stab wounds at the scene. Shaied Nazir, 21, Ziaraff Mahrad, 21, Ahmed Ali Awan, 22, and Sarfraz Ali, 25, all of Peterborough, all deny murder. Kicked on ground The court heard Mr Parker and his girlfriend Nicky Toms, then 19, had left the Solstice pub where they both worked and were walking to a friend's house. "They didn't make it because on the way Ross was murdered by the defendants." Mr Coward said Mr Parker had been kicked as he fell on the ground. He added that some of the attackers had been wearing balaclavas. The trial continues.Family in court to hear opening Peterbrough Evening Telegraph, 7 November 2002 http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/fullstory.asp?storyid=1 THE trial of four city men charged with the murder of teenager Ross Parker was expected to go ahead today after it was delayed for 24 hours. As reported in The Evening Telegraph, the four arrived at Northampton Crown Court yesterday when the trial was due to start. But after legal discussions, Deputy High Court Judge Edwin Jowitt QC decided to send the jury away to allow further legal deliberations. Shaied Nazir (21) and Ziaraff Mahrad (21), both of Cromwell Road; Ahmed Ali Awan (22), of Gladstone Street, and Sarfraz Ali (25), of Harris Street, are accused of killing Ross in the early hours of Friday, September 21, last year. The accused, who were all granted police bail earlier this year, stood and listened in the dock as the charge of murder was read out to the court. They have all denied the charge. Ross (17), of Bozeat Way, Westwood, Peterborough, was attacked and killed as he walked along a footpath adjacent to Bourges Boulevard, near Russell Street. The former pupil at Jack Hunt School, in Netherton, and a female friend, had been walking home from work at the Solstice pub, in Northminster, Peterborough. The girl ran for help to the nearby dual carriageway, where she flagged down a passing police car. A post mortem examination carried out at Peterborough District Hospital concluded Ross had died from stab wounds. The jury of four women and eight men were asked to return to the court for a 10.30am start today. Addressing the jury, Judge Jowitt pointed out the packed public gallery to highlight the high level of interest in the case and warned them not to speak about what they heard outside the court. Before they were sworn in, the judge also told jury members that the case would last for about four weeks.'I heard him cry out two or
three times - then there was no sound at all'
Peterbrough Evening Telegraph, 8 November 2002 http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/fullstory.asp?storyid=1 IN a quiet voice, the former girlfriend of Ross Parker told a hushed court how they had walked hand-in-hand on a warm, late summer night. It was a walk that was to end in horror and terror. Petite, and with her light-brown hair tied in a ponytail hair, Nicola Foot (20) relived what happened after a fateful decision that she and Ross (17) would walk from the Solstice pub, in Northminster Road, at the end of their working shift on September 21 last year. They had tried to get a lift with Ross's sister Leanne (24), but her car was packed. They had no luck getting into the pub manager's car either. So, they set off from the pub on a stroll that took them along a pathway by the side of Bourges Boulevard. Composed, and in a matter of fact voice, Mrs Foot described what happened as they approached Russell Street. She noticed a man, standing on the grass in front of them. There was also another group of Asian youths, and she said the man who had stood in front of them, started walking towards the group which numbered about six. As they approached this group, she heard someone with an Asian accent say "Better start running" in a loud whisper from her right hand side. She said she turned to look, and saw a man standing in an area which she believed to be an alleyway. There were more men behind him, hiding in bushes. It was at this point that the group of men started walking towards them and blocked the path. It was then that the attack happened. She told the jury that one of the group approached Ross and sprayed an aerosol in his face. She said she tried to hold onto Ross's hand, but had to let go as he fell to the ground. She said: "Ross put his right hand to his eyes and he seemed to be in pain. He stopped, but I carried on walking. The man closest to Ross, punched him in the stomach. And he went to the ground. "Ross curled up in a tight ball and about four of the group started kicking him. "He did not fight back." Mrs Foot, who has since married and is expecting a baby, said she thought about running to a friend's house in Bourges Boulevard to get help. But she changed her mind and ran to the nearby Esso garage on the other side of the dual carriageway. She said: "I could not see what was going on, but I could hear sounds of a struggle and Ross was crying out. I heard him cry out two or three times. "After the last cry, there was no sound at all." Mrs Foot flagged down a police car, but by the time they got back to Ross he was dead. Two told police they were there TWO of the men accused of murdering Ross Parker have admitted they were at the scene of the attack, but two have claimed they were not there at all. When interviewed by police just after the killing, Nazir made no comment. But in later interviews he admitted being at the scene, although he claimed he had not taken part in the violence. Mahrad also admitted he had been at the scene of the killing to police but claimed he had not been involved in the attack. He told officers that blood discovered on his jumper and trousers was there because he had fallen across Ross during the fracas. Mahrad said he would not reveal the names of anyone else at the scene because he was "too scared". Ali told police he had been to the Liquid nightclub, in New Road, Peterborough, on the night of the attack and had gone back to the shed at Cromwell Road, but had fallen asleep in a chair and not woken until 3am. Awan told police he had also
been to Liquid nightclub on the night, but had gone home and not heard
anything about the murder until the following morning.
Witness tells court he saw brother
cleaning blood-splattered knife
Peterbrough Evening Telegraph, 8 November 2002 http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/fullstory.asp?storyid=2 THE brother of Shaied Nazir told the court he saw him cleaning a blood-splattered knife at the family's kitchen sink, following the attack on Ross Parker. Wyed Nazir (18) said he heard a noise in the kitchen, as he sat in the next room watching DVDs, at the house in Cromwell Road. Giving evidence yesterday, Wyed said he walked in to see what was happening and found his brother and Sarfraz Ali (25) standing there. Wyed told Northampton Crown Court both the men had blood on them - Ali on his boot and Nazir on his trousers. Wyed told the court: "There was blood running off the knife. I asked what had happened. "Sarfraz said 'We just had a fight in the underpass'." Prosecutor Stephen Coward QC then asked Wyed if he was told what colour the victim was, and Wyed replied: "I remember at some stage someone saying it was a white lad." Mr Coward then asked Wyed: "How did they look?" he replied: "They were different, they were worried". Wyed went on to tell the court he had asked his brother and Ali where Ahmed Ali Awan and Ziaraff Mahrad were, because earlier in the night he had dropped the four off at Chicago Rock pub. Wyed told the court he was told Awan and Mahrad were in the shed. He then went to the shed and found Mahrad, known as Ziggy, sitting on a chair at the far end. Awan was also there. He asked them what had happened and they said they had got into a fight. Awan had tiny speck of blood on his shoe. Mahrad took his boot off and had blood on his white sock and on the back of his white top. Wyed told the court that Awan had said to him he had "stabbed" someone. He touched Wyed in the places where he had stabbed the man. Awan then asked Wyed to go to the underpass. Mr Coward QC, said: "Did Awan give any particular reason why he wanted you to go and see what the position was at the underpass?" Wyed, replied: "He said to me, go to the underpass and see if he (Ross) has died or not. But I refused." Wyed then went on to tell the court that at one point he was told to go and fetch the knife which was by the kitchen sink. He said it had a black handle, was about a foot long with crocodile teeth at the top and holes in the blade. Wyed said he seen the knife in the shed once before, and at the time he was told it belonged to Awan. But he added he had never seen it again until the night of the incident. He said had also seen three black balaclavas stored in a plastic bag in the shed, on another occasion. Brother agreed to give an alibi to protect his family WYED Nazir told the court the day after Ross was killed there was talk of providing an alibi. He told the court that Ahmed Ali Awan turned up at the house in Cromwell Road and asked if there was a plan about what they should do. They made up an alibi, telling Wyed that if anyone asks, they were all watching DVDs all night, the court heard Wyed went on to tell the court that later, Awan said he had bumped into a neighbour one of the Tanners who agreed to lie and give him an alibi. Wyed said initially he went along with the alibi and when asked in court why he did, he said: "It was to help my brother and my family." On October 3 last year, police
showed Wyed a picture of a hunting knife and Wyed said it was identical
to the one he had been shown on the night of Ross's murder.
Ananova, 19 December 2002
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_730926.html?menu=news.latestheadlines.uknews Three men have been found guilty of stabbing to death a teenager who was walking home with his girlfriend in Peterborough. Shaied Nazir, 22, Ahmed Ali Awan, 22, and 25-year-old Sarfraz Ali, all of Peterborough all denied murder. Ross Parker, 17, was killed with a foot-long hunting knife while on a cycle path on September 21 last year. In the trial at Northampton Crown Court, a fourth man, Zairaff Mahrad, 21, was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter. Angry scenes erupted in the courtroom when the verdicts were announced. The family of Nazir wept and shouted and his brother Wyed, who earlier gave evidence for the prosecution, screamed: "My brother is not a murderer." He had to be restrained by police and court security staff while the jury returned to continue their deliberations in relation to Mahrad. Mr Parker was walking home at around 1.15am with girlfriend Nicola Toms when he was attacked. The gang sprayed an aerosol in his eyes before they punched, kicked and hit him with a panel beater's hammer. He was then stabbed through the throat, the court was told.
Peterbrough Evening Telegraph,
19 December 2002 UNTIL he became a teenager, Shaied Nazir, of Cromwell Road, had followed the strict Muslim traditions of his parents and lived a law-abiding life. But, when he reached adolescence, he started rebelling against the values he had been taught by his parents. The 22-year-old started smoking drugs, drinking heavily, and staying out late with his friends. In March 1999, he was cautioned by King's Lynn police for using threatening behaviour. And in April 2002, he was fined £50 for failing to surrender to custody during proceedings at which he was charged with taking a car and driving it under the influence of excess alcohol. He was found not guilty. When having his fingerprints taken after being arrested on suspicion of Ross's murder, Nazir told officers: "I wish I had not bothered going out that night. You know I never meant for anyone to get hurt." FOR Ahmed Ali Awan, the brutal stabbing of Ross Parker was a way of proving his "superiority" within the gang. During the Ross Parker murder trial, Awan (22), of Gladstone Street, was described as a "gangster" who had a fantasy for knives and thought of himself as "something special". The court heard he was an unofficial police informer who had told officers about hard drug dealing in his area. He also kept a scanner in his house which could be used to pick up police radio frequencies. After his arrest he was remanded in custody at Bedford Prison. On his arrival at the prison, the court heard he saw an inmate he knew, called Darren Boardman, who warned him that other prisoners would want to attack him for what he had done to Ross. Awan responded by describing the killing to Boardman in lurid detail and pointing on his body to where Ross had been stabbed. SARFRAZ Ali was given glowing
character references by two city councillors, but witnesses said he
had a "dark side". Up to the night of Ross's murder last year,
Ali (25), of Harris Street, had lived a normal life and had never been
in trouble with the law. The court heard his father played major role
at a city mosque and Ali had been married in September 2000. But, during
the trial, the court heard there was a different side to Ali. The court
was told that Ali's wife had left him in the middle of the trial because
she was scared of him and his family. The jury was also told that she
may have found out about his involvement in the murder of Ross after
seeing his bloody clothing. Ali said that out of his three co-accused,
he was closest to Awan. The pair concocted a false story saying neither
of them had been at the scene of the killing. But the jury did not believe
the lies.
ROSS Parker bled to death after
being stabbed, beaten with a hammer and kicked on the ground in a barbaric
attack.
Peterbrough Evening Telegraph,
19 December 2002 The 17-year-old had been walking hand-in-hand with his girlfriend Nicola Foot along a cycleway running alongside Bourges Boulevard, near Russell Street, when they were ambushed by the offenders. The pair had just finished working a late shift at the Solstice pub, in Northminster, in the city centre and had failed to get a lift home. They were walking to a friend's house in Bourges Boulevard at about 1.15am on Friday, September 21, last year, when the gang pounced. Shaied Nazir (22), of Cromwell Road, Peterborough, was the first on the scene. He came out of an alleyway and scared off a group of young Asian boys nearby. He was followed by Ahmed Ali Awan (22), of Gladstone Street and Sarfraz Ali (25), of Harris Street, some of whom were wearing balaclavas. The procesution alleges Ziaraff Mahrad (21), of Cromwell Road, also took part. Mrs Foot heard someone say, "Better start running" before Nazir sprayed CS gas in Ross's face. The teenager put his hands to his eyes in pain and was then punched in the stomach. He fell to the ground, letting go of Mrs Foot's hand, as he tried in vain to fight off his attackers. It may never be known who stabbed Ross three times in the neck and upper body with an 18-inch "hunting knife", but during the trial, both Nazir and Awan were blamed. Ross was also beaten with a panel-beater's hammer as he lay on the ground and the court heard it was Ali who wielded the weapon. As her boyfriend was stabbed
and beaten to death, Mrs Foot ran screaming to the nearby Esso garage
in Bourges Boulevard. As she ran she heard Ross cry out two or three
times in pain. Then she heard nothing. Mrs Foot managed to flag down
a police car on Bourges Boulevard and call emergency services, but Ross
was certified dead as soon as ambulance crews reached the scene. There
was no sign of his murderers and Peterborough police began one of the
biggest inquiries in the history of the city. It was an investigation
that ended successfully today with three of the four defendants being
found guilty of murder.
Victim
stabbed and beaten
Nazir tells court he kicked Ross during
attack but did not know about stabbing http://www.peterboroughtoday.co.uk/fullstory.asp?storyid=3 SHAIED Nazir told the court he kicked Ross Parker on the ground and tried to spray him with CS gas - but did not realise he had been stabbed to death. Giving evidence for a second day, Nazir (22), who is accused of murder, told Northampton Crown Court that he did not realise a stabbing had taken place until he got back to a garage at the rear of his home at 122 Cromwell Road. He said co-accused Ahmed Ali Awan gestured to him that he had "slashed" Ross around his rib cage. As reported in The Evening Telegraph, Ross bled to death after being stabbed three times with a large knife. The court has heard he was attacked by a gang, some wearing balaclavas, as he walked along a cyclepath, near Bourges Boulevard, with his girlfriend Nicola Foot. Nazir, Awan (22), of Gladstone Street, Sarfraz Ali (25), of Harris Street, and Ziaraff Mahrad (21), of Cromwell Road, deny murder. Yesterday, Nazir told the court that at the time of the killing he had been walking from the garage at his home to get some cigarettes from the Esso garage, in Bourges Boulevard, with the three co-accused and student Zaheer Abbas and Adeel Rehman (20), who have already given evidence for the prosecution. Michael Lawson QC, defending Nazir, said: "Did you know, when you left the garage with the five other people, if anyone intended to use violence?" Nazir replied: "No". Mr Lawson said: "Did you know that any of them had anything with them, whether weapons or balaclavas? Nazir replied: "No". Nazir told the court that while Ross was on the ground he attempted to spray CS gas at him but ended up accidentally directing it at himself. Mr Lawson said: "When you kicked Mr Parker on the ground and tried to spray him, did you know he had been fatally injured? Nazir replied "No". Nazir told the court that he and his co-accused had been to Liquid nightclub, in the city centre, before walking back to the garage at his home. He said they then decided to walk to the Esso garage to buy cigarettes. Nazir said as they came to a play area, near the scene of the attack, Ali handed him a can of CS gas which he put in his pocket and "didn't think anything of it." Nazir said he saw Awan, Ali and Mr Rehman wearing balaclavas, which he said were owned by Awan. During Nazir's evidence his co-accused sat in the dock with their heads mostly bowed to the floor and at one point Awan shook his head. Nazir said he kept walking towards the Esso garage and told some Asian youngsters to go home because it was late. He also saw some youths running towards nearby Dyson Close. Mr Lawson said: "Did you know why?" Nazir said he turned around a saw a body being kicked by Mr Rehman, Mr Abbas and Ali. He said he saw Mahrad running towards the attack and Awan running back in the direction they had come from. Mr Lawson said: "What about you?" Nazir replied: "Yes, I was involved". Mr Lawson said: "How did you join in?" Nazir said: "I turned round and kicked him a couple of times." Mr Lawson said: "Did you get the gas can out and did you use it? Nazir replied: "Yes, I sprayed in the opposite direction, I sprayed myself." Nazir said he saw the hammer being used by Ali and the incident was over in "about a minute". He said he only realised he had blood on his trousers and boots when he got back to the garage at his home. But he said he could not see any blood when it happened, because the lighting was so bad. He said that back at the garage he saw Awan with the murder weapon, which had blood on it. He asked Awan where the knife had come from, but he got no reply, the court heard. Nazir said: "I was shocked and I asked Ahmed if he had stabbed him or slashed him. "He said, 'I slashed him'. He said he slashed him around here." At this point Nazir pointed to his rib cage just under his left arm. Nazir told the court he washed the knife in his kitchen and also attempted to clean Ali's bloodied boots. He said he and his co-accused then started making up an alibi. Nazir said Awan was going to claim he went straight home after leaving the club because he had been seen that night by members of the Tanner family, in Gladstone Street. Nazir said he did not sleep that night and did not find out that Ross had been killed later on that morning.
SHAIED Nazir told the court he started telling the truth only when he believed the case was a "cut throat" between him and co-accused Ahmed Ali Awan. Under cross-examination yesterday, Nazir said in police interviews he told officers he had come across the killing of Ross Parker and stayed for about 20 seconds before leaving. Nigel Salts QC, defending Sarfraz Ali, asked Nazir when he decided to change his story and say that his client had been involved in the attack and had handed him a can of CS gas. He also asked why Nazir had not mentioned that prosecution witnesses Adeel Rehman and Zaheer Abbas has also been involved. Nazir said: "I knew it from the beginning but I didn't tell my legal team until November 23." Mr Salts said: "That was long after the trial had started and long after Mr Abbas and Mr Rehman had given evidence. Why?" Nazir said: "Because I wanted to tell the truth." Mr Salts said: "Why at that moment?" Nazir said: "Because Mr Rumfitt (Awan's barrister) stood in court and said something along the lines of, it was a cut throat between me and Ahmed. Then I decided to tell the truth." Mr Salts said his client was not at the scene of the killing at all and Nazir used the hammer on Ross. Mr Salts said: "The CS gas had nothing to do with Saff (Ali). You are lying aren't you?. It was yours and yours alone." Nazir replied: "No". Mr Salts said: "What were you doing spraying CS gas at a man who was mortally wounded?" Nazir replied: "I just turned round and sprayed the gas straight away."
SHAIED Nazir denied having "a sick obsession with knives". Nigel Rumfitt QC, defending Ahmed Ali Awan, said Nazir told police that just after the killing, when the knife used to kill Ross still had blood on it, Nazir had said: "That's a nice knife". Mr Rumfitt said it was not Awan but Nazir who had a "fascination with knives". Cross-examining Nazir, Mr Rumfitt had the "combat knife", which was used to kill Ross, held up at Northampton Crown Court. Another exact replica of the weapon, which has a 12-inch serrated blade and teeth down one side, was also given to members of the jury to inspect. Mr Rumfitt said: "Could you tell the jury what particular feature of that is nice." Nazir replied: "The way the whole thing is made". Mr Rumfitt said: "You like that particular knife do you?" Nazir replied: "I did, yes". Mr Rumfitt said: "Have you got some sort of sick obsession with knives Mr Nazir?" Nazir replied: "No". Mr Rumfitt said: "It's not Mr Awan with the sick fascination with knives, it is you and you are just putting your guilt on to him." Nazir replied: "No". Mr Rumfitt asked Nazir why he had washed the knife after finding it in the garage at his home at 122 Cromwell Road. Nazir said because it was "covered in blood" and was "in my shed". Mr Rumfitt said: "The reason you washed the knife and the reason it was in your shed two days later was because it was yours. You washed the knife because you killed Ross Parker didn't you?" Nazir replied: "No"The Sun http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2002511997,00.html AN Asian gang murdered a youth and then waved a
knife in the air crying: “Look at this — cherish the blood,”
a court heard yesterday. Bar worker Ross Parker, 17, was ambushed
by thugs as he strolled along a dimly-lit footpath with his girlfriend. Ross was also repeatedly kicked in the head, body and legs as he lay curled in a ball, the jury was told.His girlfriend Nicola Toms, 20, fled and flagged down a police car. She led a WPC to the scene but Ross was already dead of stab wounds. Ross was set on as he and Nicola walked to a pal’s house after leaving work at The Solstice pub in Peterborough, Cambs, on September 21 last year at around 1am. On the footpath Nicola heard a voice say “You better start running” and moments later Ross was attacked. Nicola told Northampton Crown Court she also heard an aerosol being squirted. She added: “Ross put his hand to his eyes and seemed in pain.“One of those closest punched him and he fell.” Nicola said around four of the gang began kicking Ross. Shaied Nazir, 21, Ziaraff Mahrad, 21, Ahmed Ali Awan, 22, and Sarfraz Ali, 25, all of Peterborough, deny murder. Awan was allegedly seen brandishing the knife and declaring, “Cherish the blood” shortly after the attack, the jury heard. Earlier that evening the four defendants had been dropped outside a nightclub by Nazir’s younger brother Wyed, the court was told. In the early hours of the morning Wyed heard a noise in his kitchen and allegedly found his brother washing a large knife in the sink.Wyed noticed that both his brother and Ali, who was with him, had blood on their clothes, the jury heard. He asked them what had happened and they allegedly said they had beaten someone up. Wyed then went to a nearby building nicknamed The Shed and saw Awan and Mahrad. Both had blood on their boots, the jury heard. Awan allegedly said he had stabbed someone. Cops found a hunting knife, hammer, bloodstained clothes and two balaclavas in The Shed. Ross’s parents Tony, 51, and Davinia, 46, and his sister Leanne, 24, were at court for the opening of the trial, expected to last four weeks. |
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