Revealed: The faces of four men found guilty of the brutal killing of a 22-year-old on Walsall street
Police have released images of the four men found guilty on Wednesday of the killing of a man who was brutally attacked and stabbed to death on a Walsall Street.
Mohammed Khan, 22, was the victim of a brutal and sustained attack on March 17, on Bloxwich Road, where he was left for dead. He sustained catastrophic injuries and later died in hospital.
Five men from Walsall had pleaded not guilty to murder but three of them were convicted of murder on Wednesday following a trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court and a fourth was found guilty of manslaughter.
The court had heard how Mr Khan was stabbed, stomped on and kicked during fighting in Bloxwich Road near Leamore, Walsall, at around 5.15pm on Monday, March 17 after arriving in the area carrying a combat knife in one hand and a machete in the other.
The men found guilty of murder include Zain Raja, 23, of Harden Road, Asad Iftakhar, 34, of Bloxwich Road, Hassan Iftakhar, aged 34, also of Bloxwich Road.
A fourth man, Amaan Khan, 22, of Harden Road, was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter.
Asad Iftakhar was also found guilty of possessing a knife and Hassan Iftakhar of possessing an axe.
A fifth man, Iftakhar Ahmed, 53, of Bloxwich Road, who was also charged with murder, was found not guilty.
A date for sentencing has yet to be fixed.
The brutal attack took place at around 5.15pm in broad daylight and in front of members of the public.
Mr Khan was taken to the floor and kicked, stamped on and then stabbed multiple times including to the back and neck. He died from his injuries later that night.
Mr Khan had arrived on the road armed with two large knives and had tried to attack Zain Raja before he was set upon by the group of four men who were all related.
Footage showed brothers Zain Raja, Asad Iftakhar and Hassan Iftakhar and their cousin Amaan Khan carry out their prolonged and vengeful attack on Mr Khan.
He was stabbed multiple times, kicked and stamped on.
The violent attack was seen by witnesses some of whom filmed the attack on their mobile phones. The videos were provided to police and on top of this officers secured CCTV footage of the attack enabling them to determine exactly what happened and dedicated officers were able to collect and collate many different clips of footage enabling them to carry out a detailed investigation.
Officers worked tirelessly on the case compiling video evidence which would prove to be crucial in the investigation and which ultimately led to their convictions.
Following the convictions, Mohammed's heartbroken mother has released a statement which said: "Mohammed was my son, and since he was taken from me, I no longer know what peace feels like. My heart is broken in a way that can never be repaired. A mother is not meant to outlive her child, and yet here I am, living every day with a pain that never leaves me.
"I cannot sleep properly anymore. The nights are the hardest.
"Mohammed died in violent circumstances, and the knowledge of what he may have suffered torments me. I think constantly about whether he was afraid, whether he was in pain, and whether he knew his life was ending. These thoughts invade my mind day and night. I cannot escape them, and they have changed me forever.
"From that moment of his death the world stopped making sense to me. Nothing feels safe anymore. Nothing feels normal. I look at other young men and think of Mohammed. I still expect him to walk through the door. I still wait for him.
"Mohammed was my baby. I carried him, raised him, and loved him every day of his life. He was kind, caring, and thoughtful. He mattered.
"As his mother, this loss lives inside me every moment. I still feel the need to protect him, even though I no longer can. I live with constant grief, constant exhaustion, and a pain that never eases.
"I will carry this sorrow for the rest of my life. Mohammed will never be forgotten. He lives on in my heart, in my memories, and in my dreams. I loved him from his first breath, and I will love him until my last."
Detective Inspector Joe Davenport, who led the investigation, said: “This was a brutal attack carried out on a man on a busy road in the daytime and witnessed by many members of the public who were in the street at the time.
“The group stabbed Mr Khan multiple times, kicked and stamped on him. It was a deliberate and prolonged attack and was a shocking outbreak of violence and something we simply won’t tolerate on the streets of Walsall.
“What started as self-defence, turned into cold blooded revenge, and the group went far beyond what was reasonable in the circumstances, with a jury satisfied that their actions amounted to murder.
“We are delighted with the convictions and we are expecting the defendants to be spending many years behind bars when they are next in court for sentence.
“This case just highlights the devastating impact of knife crime and the dangers of carrying knives.”
