Man hired "hit-man" to kill his wife
A 65-year-old man has been found guilty of paying a drug addict to kill his wife. Mohamed Ali from Forest Gate was convicted along with 47-year-old Frederick Best.
Ali had approached Best to murder his wife of 14 years, Amina Bibi, and would pay him £1,000 for carrying out the murder. He attacked her on Friday, 13 September 2013.
Mrs Bibi, who was 43, was stabbed more than 70 times in the attack by Best at the home she shared with Ali.
It is believed that he was disturbed during his attack after the eldest of Mrs Bibi's two sons came back from school because he had forgotten his books. The 11-year-old boy found his mother dying in a pool of blood. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Officers identified Ali on CCTV speaking with another man outside the flat prior to the murder taking place.
Ali's two mobile phones were seized. One phone contained family and friend's contacts but the other held only numbers in Pakistan and a UK mobile phone number called frequently at the time of the murder.
This turned out to be the number of Best who also matched the description of the male seen speaking to Ali on the CCTV prior to the murder taking place.
Ali knew Best from when he owned a shop in Woodgrange Road, Forest Gate in the early 1990s. Best used to hang around the shop and Ali knew that Best had a drugs habit.
They lost touch but met some 15 years later in 2013 by chance and swapped numbers. It was then that police believe Ali hatched a plan to have his wife killed by Best.