Mum found dead at home 'unlawfully killed' - inquest

A mum who was found dead in her family home almost a decade ago was "unlawfully killed" a coroner has ruled - but her death remains "unresolved".

Mumtaz Member, 56, was found with excessive injuries to her head, face and neck in a bedroom of her home in Stoneygate, Leicester, on 12 December 2015.

Leicestershire Police launched a murder investigation at the time, leading to murder charges against her two sons and daughter-in-law, which were later dropped.

After a seven-day inquest at Leicester Coroner's Court, senior coroner Professor Catherine Mason said "on the balance of probabilities, Mumtaz was killed by a person or persons unidentified".

The cause of her death was concluded as "blunt force head and facial injuries".

Mrs Member's sons Mohammed and Shafiq and Shafiq's wife Fatima, were all charged with murder, but the charges were dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service in February 2016 due to "insufficient evidence".

The inquest was a finding of fact to determine how Mrs Member came about her death, not to find fault.

Mrs Member's family has always maintained that she was killed not by her children but by an intruder and said Mohammed, Shafiq and Fatima "should never have been charged in the first place".

Prof Mason said: "It has been a difficult journey getting to this stage, and while I have been able to answer some of your questions, I have not been able to answer the question of who killed her. This death remains unresolved."

She added that Mrs Member's family would feel her loss "for the rest of their lives".

In their statement the family said: "The family believes that the focus of the police on the children of Mumtaz meant that time was lost and opportunities missed to identify the true killer.

"The true killer of Mumtaz is still out there. The family sincerely hopes that person -who the coroner described as unidentified - is caught and brought to justice.

"But for now, they wish to get on with their lives and remember Mumtaz as the wonderful person she was."

The police said they "still truly believe" the answer for who was responsible "remains within the community" and urged anyone with information to come forward.

The inquest heard Mrs Member had been staying at her in-law's house for several nights before she died for a "period of mourning" following the death of her father-in-law.

She had been staying there alongside her husband Ibrahim and other family members before she decided to go back home by herself, on Friday 11 December.

Ibrahim returned home the following morning to find his wife dead, the court heard.

Several family members, who were called as witnesses during the inquest, said the Mrs Member had been encouraged to stay at her in-law's for one more night but she "was tired" and drove home, where Mohammed, Shafiq and Fatima, and their baby son had already returned.

When Ibrahim found her the following morning, the court heard he called his brothers "for support", and several family members went to the house before 999 was called.

An ambulance crew was initially called to what was described as a "nose bleed", before it was changed to "cardiac arrest", the court heard, but upon their arrival, Mrs Member was "cold to touch".

The bedroom had blood splatter on all four walls, the ceiling and the door, the inquest was told, and Mrs Member had multiple serious injuries, including lacerations to her face and head, "intense bruising" and loose teeth.

The ambulance crew arrived to what was described as a "confusing" scene, with around 25 people already at the house.

A forensic scientist told the inquest there were no traces of blood found outside Mrs Member's bedroom.

Michael Graham, retired Det Supt, who became the senior investigating officer of the murder investigation in March 2016, said he had "never been able to work out" how there was no blood transferred outside the bedroom.

He said there had been no evidence of a clean-up, no weapon had ever been found and that no motive was ever established.

There was also no evidence of a break-in, disturbance or signs of an intruder.

The court also heard there was "no scientific evidence" that showed Mohammed, Shafiq or Fatima were involved in her death.

Throughout the inquest, the court heard Mrs Member's gold jewellery, which family members said had been in the house at the time of her death, was missing.

Police said they followed up on the missing jewellery as a line of inquiry but the matter was never resolved.

The inquest heard there were three hypotheses in the investigation; that Mrs Member was killed by one of the people in the house on the evening she died, she was killed by a person known to her or that she was killed by a third party. Mr Graham said all three hypotheses had "equal weighting".

Mrs Member's family said she was "much loved by her family and is missed greatly by them all".

Leicestershire Police said: "We acknowledge the outcome of HM Coroner's inquest into Mrs Member's death. Her death remains an unsolved murder case.

"Despite extensive enquiries and numerous appeals for information, we have not been able to identify the person or people responsible for her horrific death.

"We still truly believe the answer to who was responsible for this heinous crime remains within the community. We owe it to Mrs Member to bring those responsible for her death to justice.

"If anyone has any information, they are urged to get in touch. If you can't contact the police directly, there are other options available to you, such as Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 1111, which is an anonymous service, or by reporting online at www.leics.police.uk."

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