Man denies murdering pregnant wife from Pudsey, Leeds, by pushing her off of Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh

Kashif Anwar stands accused of behaving in a threatening and abusive way towards his wife Fawziyah Javed on September 1, 2021 at a hotel in the Scottish capital, and then of murdering her the next day by pushing her from the hill in Holyrood Park, causing her multiple blunt force injuries. The High Court in Edinburgh was told this caused the death of the 31-year-old, from Pudsey, and that of her unborn child.

Anwar, 29, appeared in the dock for the first day of his trial today (Wednesday), where his defence solicitor Brian Gilfedder told the jury his client denies both the charges against him.

The jury was told the Crown case, led by advocate depute Alex Prentice KC, includes allegations that Anwar knocked his wife unconscious in a cemetery in Pudsey in March 2021. The court heard he seized her on the body, struggled with her, and caused her to fall to the ground, then struck her on her head when she was rendered unconscious.

The prosecution said the defendant, who appeared in court with a shaved head and wearing a blue polo-shirt, had on March 12, 2021 withdrawn £12,000 from his wife’s bank account and put it into his own account without her consent.

The jury was also told that between March 11 and 14, 2021, in Galloway Lane, Pudsey, Anwar put a pillow over his wife’s face, restricting her breathing, and repeatedly punched her on her head.

Also among the prosecution claims is that on August 26, 2010 in Owlcotes Road, Pudsey, and elsewhere, he made threats that he would not allow his wife to divorce him, that he would not divorce her, and that he would not allow her to remarry.

The court was also told of a claim that between April 29 and May 1 2021, Anwar made threats that he would “ruin her life should she end the relationship”.

Their relationship began in August 2019 and by July 2020 they had become engaged. They married in December that year.

On August 31, 2021 they had checked into Edinburgh’s Residence Inn by Marriott, in Simpson Loan. They had been set to check-out on September 4.

Ms Javed died on September 2, and a post-mortem examination revealed the cause of death to be complications of multiple injuries cased by a fall from height.

The charge against Anwar states that on September 1, 2021 at the Residence Inn, he did behave in a threatening or abusive manner which was likely to cause a reasonable person to suffer fear of alarm and that he did repeatedly shout at his wife.

He is also accused of on September 2, at Arthur’s Seat in Holyrood Park, assaulting his then pregnant wife, and pushing her from a height and causing her to fall, whereby she sustained multiple blunt force trauma injuries and was so severely injured she died there and that he therefore murdered her.

The second charge added he caused the death of the unborn child, and that he did previously evince malice and ill-will towards her.

The trial is expected to continue until April 14 has been scheduled until April 19 in case further time is required. The trial continues.