LONDON, (Reuters) – A 29-year-old man who stabbed to death his former girlfriend and her sister in a “brutal and depraved” attack was found guilty of murder yesterday.
Mohammed Ali had not shown any remorse for the “horrific” killing of Yasmine and Sabrina Larbi-Cherif, police said after his conviction at Birmingham Crown Court.
Ali had spent five months in jail on remand after Yasmine, 22, accused him of rape in February last year.
But Yasmine withdrew the complaint in June 2008, saying she could not cope with attending court and giving evidence.
In September, Ali went to the sisters’ Birmingham flat and stabbed Yasmine and Sabrina, 19.
“He had left behind a scene of carnage,” said prosecutor David Crigman, the Press Association reported.
“He had used violence of the most brutal and depraved kind and he had killed two young girls.”
During the attack, Ali walked twice from the lounge to the kitchen to rearm himself after breaking two knives.
The women’s partially clothed bodies were found dragged into the blood-drenched apartment’s bedroom.
Yasmine had been stabbed twice and her sister more than 30 times.
Crigman said Ali’s attack on Sabrina was sadistic — her wounds appeared to be made with precision rather than anger and had drained all the blood from her body.
“At no stage has he shown any remorse or sorrow,” said Detective Chief Inspector Joanne Clews.
Ali had failed to complete his cross-examination and had refused to leave his prison cell to attend court, she added.
“From what I have learnt during this investigation, I believe that Mohammed Ali is a monster … Ali is a violent, controlling and evil man, who had no respect for Yasmine during their relationship.”
Ali told his friends he was Moroccan but the court heard he had been born in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
He came to Britain in 1999 and was given indefinite leave to stay after claiming asylum.
The sisters’ family, who moved to Britain from Algeria in 1998, welcomed the conviction.