Failures by West Midlands Police contributed to Solihull murders of Raneem Oudeh and mother

Credit: West Midlands Police

Failures by West Midlands Police contributed to the deaths of a Raneem Oudeh and her mother who were murdered by the daughter's abusive husband, an inquest has heard.

Raneem Oudeh, 22, and her mother, Khaola Saleem, were fatally stabbed by Janbaz Tarin in Solihull outside Mrs Saleem's home in 2018.

The mother and daughter were murdered as Ms Oudeh was on the phone to West Midlands Police - one of five 999 calls she had made to officers on the night she was killed.

She reported concerns for her and her mum's safety to police in the hours before she was murdered.

The inquest had previously heard Tarin described as "controlling" and "obsessive".

He was jailed for a minimum 32 years after admitting to murdering the pair.

The family of Mrs Saleem and Ms Oudeh said the pair were failed “beyond imagination” by West Midlands Police.

Speaking outside the court afterwards, Ms Norris, the sister of Ms Saleem’ and the aunt to Ms Oudeh said: “The failure of the West Midlands Police has lead to the death of our beloved sister Khowla and her daughter Raneem.

“Both were murdered at the hands of the ex-husband of Raneem after a history of domestic abuse, coercive control and stalking – all of which police were aware of at the time.

“West Midlands Police have failed Khowla and Raneem beyond imagination.

"They had so many opportunities to save their lives right up until the end. Both were murdered while on the phone to police begging for help.”

In a statement, West Midlands Police accepted failures made by the force and said "more could have been done to protect Raneem" and her mother.

Raneem Oudeh, who was 22, and her mother, Khaola Saleem were found with serious stab wounds outside Khaola's home in Solihull. Credit: West Midlands Police

Assistant Chief Constable Andy Hill said: “The murders of Raneem Oudeh and her mother Khaola Saleem in 2018 are among the most shocking and appalling crimes in our region in recent years.

“On behalf of West Midlands Police, I would like to apologise to Raneem and Khaola’s family – we should have done more. Their dignity throughout the inquest has been humbling.

“More could have been done to protect Raneem from the campaign of domestic abuse that she suffered in the months leading up to her death at the hands of the man who would go on to kill her and her mother."

“The events leading up to this awful tragedy have rightly been examined in detail in the inquest and by other organisations to ensure that lessons can be learned and to give the families the answers they deserve," he continued.

“It is clear that we should have done more to join-up the incidents of abuse that were being reported to us so that the officers considering Raneem’s case had a full picture of the ordeal that Raneem was enduring at the hands of Janbaz Tarin.

“The seriousness and pattern of abuse should have been better recognised, the risk posed by Mr Tarin should have been better assessed and the crimes that were being committed should have been better identified and investigated, with action taken against Mr Tarin.

“We should have done more to safeguard Raneem, by considering appropriate interventions such as a domestic violence protection order or a referral to the Sanctuary Scheme, which could have made her home a safer place.

“We are continually striving to improve our response to domestic abuse.

"A number of key changes have already been made since the murders of Raneem and Khaola, including increasing the number of staff specifically investigating domestic abuse offences and the creation of a new team to review investigations.

"A scrutiny panel has also been formed to review decisions and give their independent professional assessment. More training has been provided to frontline officers to help them better understand key concepts of domestic abuse.

"We recognise, however, that more needs to be done. We will continue to learn from the tragic events at the heart of this inquest.

“Of course, none of this will undo the devastation that the murders of Raneem and Khaola caused to their family.

“Above all, our thoughts are with them today and again I offer our apologies.”

Janbaz Tarin pleaded guilty to two counts of murder at Birmingham Crown Court. Credit: West Midlands Police

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it found West Midlands Police “missed opportunities” to take “positive action” for Raneem Oudeh and her mother Khaola Saleem.

The watchdog said it investigated how the force responded to ten domestic abuse incidents made against Tarin between July 2017 and August 2018.

The IOPC upheld a complaint from Ms Oudeh’s family that the force failed to protect her in the months before her murder.


What happened to Raneem Oudeh and Khaola Saleem?

Raneem Oudeh, 22, and her mother, Khaola Saleem, were murdered by Janbaz Tarin in Solihull in 2018.

It came after Ms Oudeh was subjected to months of abuse by Tarin, who was 21 when he committed the double murder.

The two were married under Islamic law, and their relationship began to fall apart when she found out he had another wife in Afghanistan, as well as children.

On 26 August 2018, Ms Oudeh was spending a night at a Birmingham Shisha lounge alongside her mother, when the pair were accosted by Tarin.

After a public argument, he snatched his wife's phone and slapped both women, before being escorted off the premises.

Earlier in the month, Tarin had been subjected to non-molestation order after he smashed Ms Oudeh's phone on 10 August 2018.

Following the events in the Shisha lounge, Oudeh called the police - and was on the phone to a 999 handler when Tarin attacked her.

Ms Saleem was also fatally stabbed when she tried to intervene.

After a three-week manhunt, Tarin was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 32 years at Birmingham Crown Court.

The head of West Midlands Police's CID described the crime at the time as "one of the most brutal and heart-rending" he had seen in 150 homicides.


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