Dad was kidnapped, cut 196 times and killed, murder jury told

Pictured is Harrow Road, where the kidnap of Tala Tala took place. As his captors drove off, they swerved and nearly hit parked cars as they threatened and cut the man with knives inside the vehicle. Credit: BPM Media

A 53-year-old man found with 196 knife wounds in a house in Leicester had been kidnapped from outside his home and then cut and stabbed, a murder jury has been told.

Tala Tala was grabbed outside his Leicester home at about 11:30pm on Thursday 23 March before being bundled into a car by kidnappers armed with knives.

During the trial at Leicester Crown Court, Prosecutor Mary Prior told jurors that as the car drove away, it swerved and almost crashed into parked cars before going to the house in Harrow Road.

She said: "Whilst he was in the car, Tala Tala was repeatedly cut."The barrister said that over the next few hours, calls were made to Mr Tala's daughter and a friend demanding £40,000, but it was never paid.

Instead, his family contacted Leicestershire Police who raided the property on Friday 24 March and found Mr Tala's body.Mrs Prior told the jury, as she opened the case last week, that the two kidnappers were Daryoush Kholghnik, 34 and Talib Mombeini, 37, both of Vaughan Way, Leicester city centre.

She went on to describe why, according to the prosecution, the pair had targeted Mr Tala.She said: "It is likely that Tala Tala offered Kholghnik the opportunity to get rich quick with a fake money scam and that, through greed, both defendants fell for this scam and handed over large sums of money.

"It is plain that they realised that they had been tricked - they wanted their money back and were prepared to do anything to get it."The barrister said Kholghnik and Momeini, whom she said were both seeking asylum in the UK and had been friends since 2022, gave about £36,000 to Mr Tala, who claimed he could make counterfeit notes using real bank notes and double their money.Kholghnik had his family in Iran transfer money to him in England.

The defendants gave Mr Tala an iPhone signed into a money account, but the phone had a tracking app installed on it so that the defendants could see where Mr Tala was, Mrs Prior said.Before the cash was handed over, there was also a message from Kholghnik to Momeini telling him to buy two sharp knives, Mrs Prior said. "Momeini was plainly aware, therefore, that violence might be used," she added."He did not ask what the knives would be for. He did not say no. He simply responded, 'OK'."Kholghnik rented the property in Harrow Road through Airbnb for two nights, at a rate of £135 per night, the jury heard.

On the evening of 23 March, Mr Tala went to meet the men and was taken to Harrow Road, the court was told."In the next three or so hours, Tala Tala performed the transaction and obtained £32,000 or more," Mrs Prior said.

"We cannot know what happened in the house - plainly no difficulties arose at that stage."Mr Tala went home afterwards, and, just before he was kidnapped, he had been standing on the street, speaking on the phone with his friend, Calice Nkwesa.

Mrs Prior said Mr Nkwesa "heard a car door slam and a big shout".

She added: "He heard Tala Tala scream loudly and an aggressive Arabic voice."The telephone call ended abruptly," she said. "The car was driven at speed away from Tala Tala’s home in an erratic fashion. This was captured on CCTV."The car was swerving and almost colliding with parked cars as it drove. The nearside rear door was open and something was protruding from it."

She said that when police found the car, it was "heavily and extensively stained with Tala Tala’s blood".Mrs Prior said one message to Mr Tala's daughter, Ange, read: "If bring friend’s money you can see father.”

The court was told that when Ange replied "please don’t hurt him", Kholghnik responded: “40k. He stole it from my friends and hide it last night in your house."He then sent her a video of her father in a blood-stained shirt with cuts and grazes to his face, the jury was told.

This was followed by a message which read: “Bring my money save your father", Mrs Prior said.

The trial was being held at Leicester Crown Court Credit: Lucy Bogustawski/PA

She added that a further message read, “I cut his ear soon", and another: “He is alive but no more than two hours from now.”

Mr Tala's daughter also got a video call with Kholghnik tapping her father’s face with a knife, the barrister said.At just after 4pm the police entered the house in Harrow Road and found Kholghnik, who appeared to be asleep, while Mr Tala lay dead and naked on the living room floor, the court was told.

Momeini, who had left the house earlier that day, was arrested four days later and his trainers still had Mr Tala's blood on them, Mrs Prior told the jury.The post-mortem examination, which found Mr Tala had died from stab wounds to his thigh, identified 196 different knife wounds to his head, chest, abdomen, arms, thighs and hands.

Most were shallow cuts and 17 were described as stab wounds.Kholghnik stands accused of murder, kidnap and two counts of blackmail. Mombeini is accused of murder and kidnap. Both deny the charges. The trial continues.

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