Husband Who Stabbed Wife in Street to Be Sentenced Today

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A man who murdered his wife in a brutal knife attack as she pushed their baby in a pram through the streets of Bradford is due to be sentenced today at Bradford Crown Court.

Habibur Masum, 27, was found guilty of killing Kulsuma Akter in what prosecutors described as a “ferocious” and premeditated assault in broad daylight. Masum, who had a history of abusive and controlling behaviour, launched the fatal attack after tracking his wife down to a women’s refuge she had fled to for safety.

During the trial, the court heard that Ms Akter had left their home in Oldham, Greater Manchester, after an earlier incident where Masum held a knife to her throat following a jealous outburst over a message from a male colleague. Social services later moved her and the couple’s seven-month-old son to a refuge in Bradford in January 2024, where she had been trying to rebuild her life away from his control.

Masum, originally from Bangladesh and having arrived in the U.K. on a student visa to study marketing, used phone tracking and deception to find her whereabouts. He sent a series of threatening messages to Ms Akter, including fake texts pretending to be from a GP surgery, claiming their baby had a medical appointment. These attempts to lure her out of the refuge ultimately succeeded.

Calculated Attack

On April 6, 2024, believing Masum was abroad due to a misleading Facebook post stating he was in Spain, Ms Akter felt safe enough to go outside with a friend. As she walked through Bradford city centre, pushing her baby in a pram, Masum appeared and launched a vicious assault, stabbing her at least 25 times. The incident was captured on closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and left passers-by horrified.

Witnesses described hearing chilling screams, while Masum was later seen calmly walking away from the scene. CCTV footage even showed him smirking as he boarded a bus. He travelled nearly 200 miles to Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, before being arrested three days later in a hospital car park, where he had gone for treatment for a locked jaw.

Prosecutors described the killing as the culmination of a toxic and violent relationship. The jury was told that Masum had become increasingly possessive and jealous during the couple’s short time in the UK, ultimately leading to his wife’s murder. They had moved to Oldham together in 2022 after marrying in Bangladesh, but the relationship quickly deteriorated.

During the sentencing hearing, Mr Justice Cotter is expected to impose a mandatory life sentence and set the minimum term Masum must serve before he can be considered for parole. The case has shocked the local community and drawn further attention to the risks faced by victims of domestic abuse, even after they have sought help and tried to escape.

No government minister has yet commented publicly on the matter. Still, questions remain about the protection offered to women in refuge services and how abusers can use technology to continue their harassment despite restraining orders or previous arrests.

Masum showed no emotion throughout the trial and has not expressed remorse for the killing. The sentencing will bring some closure to Ms Akter’s family, but it serves as a grim reminder of how coercive control can escalate into deadly violence.