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| Aamir Siddiqi murder: 'why would anyone kill my boy?' | Aamir Siddiqi murder: 'why would anyone kill my boy?' |
| (4 months later) | |
| It had been a typical Sunday afternoon at 110 Ninian Road, Cardiff. Aamir Siddiqi, a talented 17-year-old student who planned to go to law school, was upstairs working on his A-level textbooks while his father, Iqbal Ahmad, was elsewhere in the house absent-mindedly singing to himself. | It had been a typical Sunday afternoon at 110 Ninian Road, Cardiff. Aamir Siddiqi, a talented 17-year-old student who planned to go to law school, was upstairs working on his A-level textbooks while his father, Iqbal Ahmad, was elsewhere in the house absent-mindedly singing to himself. |
| When the doorbell rang Aamir thought it was his Qur'an teacher and shouted that he would answer it. His mother, Parveen, glanced up and thought she could make out the shape of the teacher covering his head with a piece of cloth through the glass of the front door. | When the doorbell rang Aamir thought it was his Qur'an teacher and shouted that he would answer it. His mother, Parveen, glanced up and thought she could make out the shape of the teacher covering his head with a piece of cloth through the glass of the front door. |
| She was mistaken. What she had seen was a man putting a balaclava on and as Aamir opened the door two masked attackers burst in brandishing daggers above their heads. Howling like animals, they slashed at the teenager, leaving him with fatal wounds. | She was mistaken. What she had seen was a man putting a balaclava on and as Aamir opened the door two masked attackers burst in brandishing daggers above their heads. Howling like animals, they slashed at the teenager, leaving him with fatal wounds. |
| on Friday the two knifemen, Ben Hope, 39, and Jason Richards, 38, were found guilty of murdering Aamir in a botched "hit". The men had been paid £1,000 each to target not Aamir but a middle-aged man who lived in a neighbouring street in Roath, Cardiff. Aamir had died the victim of mistaken identity. | on Friday the two knifemen, Ben Hope, 39, and Jason Richards, 38, were found guilty of murdering Aamir in a botched "hit". The men had been paid £1,000 each to target not Aamir but a middle-aged man who lived in a neighbouring street in Roath, Cardiff. Aamir had died the victim of mistaken identity. |
| During the trial, the prosecution said the killers had been guilty not just of murder on that Sunday in April 2010 but "staggering incompetence". | During the trial, the prosecution said the killers had been guilty not just of murder on that Sunday in April 2010 but "staggering incompetence". |
| Outside court, Aamir's family spoke movingly of the moment the pair, hardened criminals and drug addicts, had destroyed their happiness forever and said that though they did not want revenge, the men deserved the long jail terms they will receive next week. | Outside court, Aamir's family spoke movingly of the moment the pair, hardened criminals and drug addicts, had destroyed their happiness forever and said that though they did not want revenge, the men deserved the long jail terms they will receive next week. |
| Mr Ahmad, 71, said: "I think that they have done something very sinister and they will be sentenced very heavily, and that is what they deserve. | Mr Ahmad, 71, said: "I think that they have done something very sinister and they will be sentenced very heavily, and that is what they deserve. |
| "We do not want revenge or to feel bad towards anybody, but when someone has done something so bad they should be punished." | "We do not want revenge or to feel bad towards anybody, but when someone has done something so bad they should be punished." |
| Mrs Ahmad, 57, said they had struggled to come to terms with the manner of their son's death. She added: "I still feel his presence around me. I miss his big hugs. Life changed when the doorbell rang and he opened the door. It took seconds. We didn't even get the chance to wonder what had happened." | Mrs Ahmad, 57, said they had struggled to come to terms with the manner of their son's death. She added: "I still feel his presence around me. I miss his big hugs. Life changed when the doorbell rang and he opened the door. It took seconds. We didn't even get the chance to wonder what had happened." |
| The attack was, indeed, swift and brutal. Aamir made it into the dining room but fell to the floor and was stabbed as he lay there. Mr Ahmad tried to prise the killers away from his son and his wife jumped on to one of the men but was shrugged off. | The attack was, indeed, swift and brutal. Aamir made it into the dining room but fell to the floor and was stabbed as he lay there. Mr Ahmad tried to prise the killers away from his son and his wife jumped on to one of the men but was shrugged off. |
| The men raced back out, leaving Aamir bleeding badly from three stab wounds, one 7cm deep. His parents were also hurt but Mrs Ahmad ran out on to the street calling out: "Help, help, help, my son is dying." Police and paramedics arrived to a desperate, bloody scene but could not save Aamir. | The men raced back out, leaving Aamir bleeding badly from three stab wounds, one 7cm deep. His parents were also hurt but Mrs Ahmad ran out on to the street calling out: "Help, help, help, my son is dying." Police and paramedics arrived to a desperate, bloody scene but could not save Aamir. |
| The murder shocked the neighbourhood. The family had lived in their house for 18 years and were regarded highly. The motive was a mystery. The men had made no attempt to steal anything and Aamir had no known enemies. | The murder shocked the neighbourhood. The family had lived in their house for 18 years and were regarded highly. The motive was a mystery. The men had made no attempt to steal anything and Aamir had no known enemies. |
| By the Sunday evening police were working on the theory that Aamir had been the victim of mistaken identity. | By the Sunday evening police were working on the theory that Aamir had been the victim of mistaken identity. |
| Richards and Hope were pinpointed as suspects after a shopkeeper handed in CCTV footage that caught them in the area. Both were familiar to police. Richards' record includes an attack on two police officers and a nasty assault in which he gouged a shop security guard's eye. Hope has served time for kidnap and squirting a noxious substance into a store detective's eye. He once broke the nose of a prison guard. | Richards and Hope were pinpointed as suspects after a shopkeeper handed in CCTV footage that caught them in the area. Both were familiar to police. Richards' record includes an attack on two police officers and a nasty assault in which he gouged a shop security guard's eye. Hope has served time for kidnap and squirting a noxious substance into a store detective's eye. He once broke the nose of a prison guard. |
| The pair met in jail and they became so close that when they were free again Richards depended on Hope to inject heroin into parts of his body that he could not reach. As well as taking drugs both worked as dealers. Hope sold up to a kilo of class A drugs and thousands of Valium tablets every week. | The pair met in jail and they became so close that when they were free again Richards depended on Hope to inject heroin into parts of his body that he could not reach. As well as taking drugs both worked as dealers. Hope sold up to a kilo of class A drugs and thousands of Valium tablets every week. |
| Among the crucial evidence police found was CCTV footage showing Hope with an envelope stuffed with cash buying trainers and a laptop two hours after the killing. | Among the crucial evidence police found was CCTV footage showing Hope with an envelope stuffed with cash buying trainers and a laptop two hours after the killing. |
| Vital too was a stolen Volvo that had been seen speeding away from Aamir's house. The car was traced and blood stains matching Aamir's DNA profile – along with Hope's and Richards' fingerprints – were discovered inside. | Vital too was a stolen Volvo that had been seen speeding away from Aamir's house. The car was traced and blood stains matching Aamir's DNA profile – along with Hope's and Richards' fingerprints – were discovered inside. |
| Police believe the real target was a family man called Mohammed Tanhai. He had become embroiled in a dispute with a businessman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, over a failed house sale. | Police believe the real target was a family man called Mohammed Tanhai. He had become embroiled in a dispute with a businessman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, over a failed house sale. |
| Footage from a CCTV camera overlooking a park shown during the trial captured the moment when the hit may have been arranged. A man with two children was seen allegedly arranging the contract killing. | Footage from a CCTV camera overlooking a park shown during the trial captured the moment when the hit may have been arranged. A man with two children was seen allegedly arranging the contract killing. |
| Remarkably, before the botched attack the killers went on a reconnaissance mission but then turned up at 110 Ninian Road instead of a similar-looking house in nearby Shirley Road. | Remarkably, before the botched attack the killers went on a reconnaissance mission but then turned up at 110 Ninian Road instead of a similar-looking house in nearby Shirley Road. |
| During the four-month trial at Swansea crown court both blamed each other and a "third man" but the jury clearly did not believe them. | During the four-month trial at Swansea crown court both blamed each other and a "third man" but the jury clearly did not believe them. |
| Trial judge Mr Justice Royce adjourned sentencing but told Hope and Richards: "It is inevitable that there is a life sentence and it is inevitable that there will be a very substantial minimum term." | Trial judge Mr Justice Royce adjourned sentencing but told Hope and Richards: "It is inevitable that there is a life sentence and it is inevitable that there will be a very substantial minimum term." |
| Afterwards Aamir's sister, Umbareen, 33, expressed relief. She said: "A house which was previously filled with love and laughter was brutally destroyed." | Afterwards Aamir's sister, Umbareen, 33, expressed relief. She said: "A house which was previously filled with love and laughter was brutally destroyed." |
| Mr Ahmad, who keeps replaying the attack in his head as if it were a film, said: "Why should anyone come into my house and kill my boy?" | Mr Ahmad, who keeps replaying the attack in his head as if it were a film, said: "Why should anyone come into my house and kill my boy?" |
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