A man who texted his girlfriend saying he had ‘punched’ and ‘killed’ his 11-year-old half-sister ‘in the heat of the moment’ has declined to answer questions at an inquest.
Suhail Mohammed, 23, refused to be quizzed on the apparent admissions, as it emerged he will not face prosecution over the death of Falaq Babar from a bleed on the brain.
The schoolgirl died in hospital more than three weeks after being found on the bathroom floor at her family home in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, on February 20, 2022.
Detectives believed there was sufficient evidence to consult prosecutors about a manslaughter charge but the inquest heard the Crown Prosecution Service declined to proceed – partly due to ‘complex medical evidence’ about whether Falaq may have had an ‘underlying’ health condition.
Police also said Falaq’s parents would not allow officers to speak to her younger siblings, aged five and seven, who witnessed the bathroom incident.
Falaq Babar died in hospital more than three weeks after being found on the bathroom floor at her family home on February 20, 2022
Suhail Mohammed, 23, (pictured arriving at Rochdale Coroners Court today) refused to be quizzed on the apparent admissions, as it emerged he will not face prosecution over the death of his sister
Mr Mohammed’s girlfriend Sahar Fiaz (pictured arriving at Rochdale Coroner’s Court) was quizzed by Coroner Joanne Kearsley during the second day of evidence today
Mr Mohammed’s girlfriend Sahar Fiaz was quizzed by Coroner Joanne Kearsley during the second day of evidence today.
Ms Fiaz revealed she’d never discussed Suhail’s death with Mr Mohammed since the text exchange from the time of the tragic incident.
In one of the messages, he declared: ‘I’ve killed Falaq’.
Ms Fiaz replied: ‘WDYM (what do you mean)’, before Mr Mohammed then said: ‘I punched her in the head.’
Ms Kearsley asked Ms Fiaz about what she understood from the content of the messages, in which Mr Mohammed said he had struck Falaq ‘in the heat of the moment’, because she was ‘screaming her head off’.
Ms Fiaz answered: ‘I did not think for a second he’d done it’. He was panicking.’
Ms Kearsley discussed other text messages she had sent to Mr Mohammed when she questioned why he had ‘hit’ Falaq and accused him of being ‘heavy handed’.
Ms Fiaz said: ‘I just assumed he was heavy handed because he’s a male.’
Mr Mohammed and Falaq’s mother Shazia Bi arriving at Rochdale Coroner’s Court today
Mr Mohammed (pictured outside Rochdale Coroner’s Court today) was arrested on suspicion of assault but gave no comment during police interviews
She said she had never discussed what happened with Mr Mohammed since – adding said she didn’t believe Mr Mohammed had punched Falaq.
The inquest is being held after an earlier hearing in November was abandoned so police could reassess the evidence.
At the abandoned inquest, Mr Mohammed described ‘barging’ his way through the bathroom door with his shoulder and elbow because it was stuck – with such force he left a hole in one panel of the door.
He said he found Falaq on the floor on the ‘other side of the door’ before helping her up.
The inquest heard analysis of the 999 call revealed Mr Mohammed spoke to family members in the background, urging them to not ‘make big deal’ of the incident, adding: ‘Don’t tell, don’t disclose’.
Falaq was taken to hospital and died on March 18.
Mr Mohammed was arrested on suspicion of assault but gave no comment during police interviews.
Dimitries Varthalitis, a consultant paediatric neurosurgeon who had operated on Falaq at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, said an abnormal venous malformation (AVM) had been found near the cerebellum (rear) area of her brain, causing a ‘big bleed’.
The inquest is scheduled to last for four days at Rochdale Coroner’s court (pictured)
Such abnormalities are congenital and very rare, he said, and people can show no symptoms with the vast majority of bleeds being ‘spontaneous’.
As such, he initially said he would ‘exclude’ any ‘traumatic’ cause in the case.
But, following questions from Ms Kearsley, he admitted there was anecdotal evidence that trauma can cause a bleed.
Ms Kearsley also questioned Dr Louise O’Connor, a paediatric consultant, who said that if she’d had all the information now available at the time she wrote her report she would have included the ‘role of possible trauma’ in Falaq’s death.
Crime scene investigators had found the bathroom door opened easily and there was no evidence it had been bolted shut.
Giving evidence on Tuesday, Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Round, of Greater Manchester Police, said he had ‘formed a suspicion’ Falaq may have been assaulted – and felt there was sufficient evidence for a manslaughter charge.
The inquest, scheduled for four days, continues.
