A man who murdered his love rival in a ferocious knife attack at a petrol station forecourt has been jailed for life.
Haseeb Majid inflicted up to 16 wounds on Mohammed Duraab Khan in just 13 seconds in a “brutal” attack with a zombie-style knife at a Texaco garage in Nottingham in January.
Majid, 22, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 26 years on Thursday following a three-week trial at Nottingham Crown Court.
Mohammed Duraab Khan was a ‘kind soul who always made everyone around him happy’, his father said. Pic: Notts Police
The jury rejected Majid’s case that he acted in self defence because he “feared violence” from Mr Khan, who had “threatened” Majid in phone calls and by vandalising his car in the weeks leading up to the attack.
Jurors heard there was “bad blood” between the pair after Mr Khan, 26, had become reacquainted with Majid’s ex-girlfriend.
On the evening of the murder, Majid followed Mr Khan, who was a passenger in a black Audi, to the petrol station forecourt on Meadow Lane in the south of the city, and walked up to the car wearing a balaclava.
Majid, who lived nearby in Wilford Crescent in The Meadows, told the court he only planned to use the knife to “scare” Mr Khan but, after the victim hit him on the wrist with a steering lock, he “lost control” and began stabbing him.
Majid inflicted up to 16 wounds in 13 seconds to Mr Khan’s left arm, left leg, torso, and back, including wounds that penetrated his internal organs.
Mr Khan died from his injuries a short time after paramedics arrived at the scene.
Police did not recover the weapon or balaclava when Majid was arrested.
Prosecution barrister Michael Burrows KC told the court that Majid had acted with “brutal, lethal force” and clearly didn’t want to just scare Mr Khan as he covered his face and kept the knife hidden until the last moment.
Mohammed Duraab Khan. Pic: Notts Police
Mark Heywood KC, defending Majid, said that there was a “mounting, escalating series of physical threats to Mr Majid” and thought there was a threat to his family.
Read more:
Storm alerts issued for parts of UK
Coronation Street actor dies
Ex-Arsenal star charged over £600K cannabis haul
The court heard a statement from Mr Khan’s father, Sarfraz Khan, in which he called his son “a remarkable person” and a “kind soul”, adding the family is “shattered” without him.
Mr Khan’s twin sister, Arshah Khan, said in a statement: “I’m just left as one half of a twin. I cannot fathom that he will not be a part of my future.”