Housemate brutally murdered two men at shared Leeds home, possibly over rent dispute, court told
A housemate is accused brutally stabbing his landlord and another tenant to death, possibly over arguments about rent arrears, a court has heard.
Khaja Raisoddin Mohammed and Abdullah Mirzada were both attacked at the shared house on Hill Top Mount in Harehills in September last year.
Mr Mohammed was also beaten badly, possibly with chunks of brick and a mop handle while already on the floor, forensic analysis suggests.
Robert Jean, 47, denies any wrongdoing and is standing trial at Leeds Crown Court this week accused of murdering both men.
He lived at the four-storey property with 53-year-old Mr Mirzada, and two other men. Mr Mohammed, who was known locally as “Uncle”, also lived there and had rented the full house from a family and sub-let the rooms to the four tenants.
Opening the case for the Crown, Craig Hassall KC said police had been called to Hill Top Mount just after 11.05am on September 30 last year to a man lying in the middle of the road, motionless and bleeding heavily.
It was later identified as Mr Mirzada, who despite the efforts of emergency workers, was pronounced dead at the scene half an hour later.
They had also found 65-year-old Mr Mohammed fatally injured in the cellar of the property. He was rushed to hospital but died at 12.35pm.
Mali-born Jean was found by police on the pavement outside the property shortly after the attacks. He claimed someone had come to the house to assault him and the others.
He then appeared to say “they attack me every day” and confessed it was someone in the house who had caused an injury to his hand.
A post-mortem found that Mr Mohammed died from 10 stab wounds to his back and neck. Stab marks were found on his ribcage and spine and two arteries had been severed. He also had a fractured skull and jaw, suggesting multiple strikes to his head.
A chunk of brick and the bent mop handle were found nearby and were found to have Mr Mohammed’s blood on them.
Analysis found that the low trajectory of the blood on the cellar walls concluded that he was on the floor when being struck.
Mr Mirzada meanwhile suffered 13 stab wounds to his back, neck and chest. Damage had been caused to his windpipe and his left lung, and the jugular vein on the right-hand side of his neck had been severed.
There were no defensive wounds on either man, suggesting they had no time to react during the attack, Mr Hassall said.
The court heard that Mr Mohammed would provide out-of-work Jean with food and encourage him to find a job, which often led to arguments between them.
Just the day before the double murder, Jean had told a local supermarket owner - whom he used to work for - that “Uncle was doing his head in” because he was continually asking for late rent.
CCTV from a camera opposite the property had picked up Jean chasing Mr Mirzada from the property and brandishing a long knife, moments before Mr Mirzada was seen dying in the road.
Jean’s DNA was found on the end of the broom handle, suspected to have been used to attack Mr Mohammed.
A knife covered in blood and with a bent blade was recovered from the kitchen bin that contained Mr Mirzada’s blood, while blood on the handle belonged to Jean. A second knife was found in the bin containing both Jean’s and Mr Mohammed’s blood.
Mr Hassall said: “All we can say is what is obvious - two men suddenly met violent deaths on that Saturday morning.
“They were each stabbed multiple times in the back and neck. They do not appear to have had the opportunity to defend themselves, certainly no defensive-type wounds were detected on their bodies.
“The scientific evidence does not suggest the presence or involvement of anyone else beyond the two dead men and the defendant Robert Jean.”
The trial continues and is expected to last two weeks.