Tragedy in Bradford: Baby Orphaned as Father Convicted of Mother's Brutal Murder

A seven-month-old baby boy is left without parents after his father, Habibur Masum, was found guilty of the shocking broad daylight murder of his mother, Kulsuma Akter, in Bradford city centre.

A horrifying act of domestic violence has left a seven-month-old baby tragically orphaned, as his father, Habibur Masum, 26, was convicted of the brutal murder of the child's mother, Kulsuma Akter, 27. The horrific stabbing, which occurred in broad daylight in April 2024, shocked the nation and highlighted the insidious nature of coercive control and domestic abuse.

Kulsuma Akter, who had sought refuge from her abusive husband, was pushing their infant son in a pram when Masum ambushed her on a Bradford city centre street. Despite a court order for him to stay away, Masum, a tech-savvy student who had used social media to cultivate an image as a "doting dad" offering parenting tips, had meticulously tracked her down. He subjected Kulsuma to a frenzied attack, stabbing her 25 times before slitting her throat, leaving her to bleed to death in the street. In a chilling display of callousness, Masum then calmly fled the scene, leaving his baby son beside his dying wife.

The brazen public nature of the attack, witnessed by passers-by and captured on CCTV, sent shockwaves through the community. Local shopkeepers, including tailor Imran Khan and fruit vendor Geo Khan, bravely rushed to Kulsuma's aid but were unable to save her. Both men have since undergone counselling, deeply traumatized by the horrific events they witnessed. "She was down to earth, such a nice and lovely lady," Geo Khan recalled, expressing the widespread grief and disbelief.

Masum's attempt to evade justice was swift but ultimately futile. Prosecutors described how he boarded a bus shortly after the murder, a chilling smile on his face, leading to him being dubbed "the smiling killer" during the trial. A nationwide manhunt ensued, culminating in his arrest three days later, 170 miles away in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

The court proceedings unveiled Masum's history of controlling behavior. The couple, who met and married in Bangladesh, arrived in the UK in March 2022 after Masum obtained a student visa. By November 2023, he was charged with assaulting and threatening to kill Kulsuma in Manchester. Despite being released on bail with an order to stay away from her, his obsession intensified. During police questioning at the time, he astonishingly claimed Kulsuma had self-inflicted her injuries to avoid returning to Bangladesh when his visa expired.

Throughout the 14 months of preliminary hearings and his trial, Masum displayed little emotion, even pleading guilty to manslaughter at one point. However, a jury ultimately convicted him of murder, as well as assault, making threats to kill, and stalking. He had already pleaded guilty to possession of a knife in public. His defense, which included a desperate claim of "diminished responsibility" and a fabricated conspiracy by Kulsuma and her family to allow her to stay in the country, was rejected by the jury. It was revealed that Masum had calculatingly exploited a forgotten location setting on Kulsuma's phone to find her, and had used a fake Facebook post claiming he was in Spain to lure her out of the refuge.

Kulsuma, a diminutive woman at just 5ft 2ins and weighing less than five stone, was due to be moved to new secure accommodation just two days after her tragic death. Her mother, Monwara Begum, described her youngest daughter as adored, remembering how Kulsuma would video call her every day from the UK, a routine broken only on the day of the attack.

The overwhelming focus of the community and those who witnessed the tragedy has been on the innocent victim, the baby boy, now completely orphaned. While his current whereabouts are not publicly disclosed for safeguarding reasons, it is understood he is now in the care of social services or family, facing a life without the embrace of either parent. Imran Khan, the tailor who tried to save Kulsuma, spoke movingly of the lasting image in his mind: "I think what got me the most was seeing the baby in the pushchair going into the police van. That got me and I'll never forget that."

Naz Shah, MP for Bradford West, articulated the profound impact of Kulsuma's murder, emphasizing that it "struck a chord" across the country. "Kulsuma came to Bradford trying to find safety and her attacker found her," Shah stated, calling for a societal shift to eradicate the "cancer of domestic violence" and misogyny. She highlighted the devastating effect on other women in the refuge who had befriended Kulsuma, now "petrified" and "grief-stricken."

Masum is scheduled to be sentenced on July 22, 2024. This tragic case serves as a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of domestic abuse and the urgent need to protect vulnerable individuals.