Guilty: father-in-law who murdered woman just six months after she flew to UK to marry his son

A man has been found guilty of murdering his 24-year-old daughter-in-law, just six months after she arrived in the UK to marry his son.

Mashal Ilyas, who came to the UK following arrangements made by the two families, was found unconscious at the bottom of the stairs in the family home on 9 October last year.

Nadeem Mohammed Begum, 53, claimed he had been sleeping and hadn’t seen or heard anything until he found his daughter-in-law collapsed.

The court heard that there were tensions in the family, particularly between Mashal and Begum and his views on her role within the household, which could have been the reason for the attack.

Katie Marsden, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said: “Mashal Ilyas’ life was cruelly cut short by Nadeem Begum.

“It is difficult to understand what drove Begum to take his daughter-in-law’s life in such a brutal way. We may never fully understand the circumstances which led to her tragic death.

“Begum lied to paramedics and the police, saying he was asleep at the time, when his phone clearly showed him as active. It was obvious from CCTV evidence at the property that only Begum and Mashal were present in the property at the time of her death.

“The CPS worked with Greater Manchester Police to build a strong case including medical evidence, forensic evidence and phone data, to prove that Begum murdered Mashal Ilyas.

“My thoughts are with Mashal Ilyas’s family and loved ones. I hope they can feel some sense of justice knowing Begum will face the consequences of his actions.”

Emergency services attended Begum’s family home on Oxford Road in Atherton at around 11.25 on 9 October 2024.

They found Mashal Ilyas at the bottom of the stairs in cardiac arrest, with multiple injuries on her face, her nose, her mouth and lips as well as bruising to her arms, hands and body. Police were also called to attend.

Begum told the police that he had come out of his bedroom and found Mashal at the bottom of the stairs. He claimed he had been upstairs sleeping and hadn’t seen or heard anything.

He then said he called one of his sons to come home as he wasn’t able to call for an ambulance for Mashal himself due to a language barrier.

A postmortem confirmed that the cause of her death was asphyxiation. Pressure had been applied to the neck, nose and mouth.

Building the case

Suspicions were raised when Mashal was found, due to the injuries she had, and the inconsistent explanations given to the emergency services.

Her injuries could not be explained by anything other than a direct assault, with pressure being applied to her nose, mouth and throat.

Mashal had a broken fingernail and other marks suggestive of a struggle in addition to blood staining on her trousers. Forensic testing confirmed the presence of Begum’s DNA in the blood.

Swabs taken from under Mashal’s fingernails matched Begum’s DNA and when he was arrested on 13 October 2024, he had a small healing scratch to the front of his neck which was consistent with her broken fingernail.

Begum claimed he had been asleep prior to finding Mashal at the bottom of the stairs. This was disproved by phone evidence showing his phone was active for most of the morning.

Police were able to establish a timeline, as Mashal was on the phone to her mother at 10:15 that morning, a few minutes into the call, she asked her mother to wait whilst she emptied the washing machine. Mashal did not return to that call.

Sometime between 10:15, when she left the call and 11:40, when the emergency services were called, she had been killed.

The evidence that Begum had murdered Mashal was compelling, what was less clear was the reason for the attack.

Evidence was produced in court to show that since Mashal came to the UK to marry Begum’s son around six months before, there had been tensions in the family.

Through messages Mashal sent to friends, it appeared that whilst she was happy in her marriage, she was struggling with Begum as the authoritarian head of the family.

There were tensions around her role in the household and the tasks she was expected to complete for the family.

Having heard all the evidence during the trial, the jury at Manchester Crown Court found Begum guilty of murder on 13 May 2025.

He will be sentenced at a later date.