Death of Asiyah Harris was ‘complete accident’, says accused

A man facing trial for the murder of Asiyah Harris in St Paul’s says her death was a “complete accident”.

Adan Dahir, 38, of Ludlow Close, appeared at Bristol Crown Court on Monday where he pleaded not guilty to the charge of the murder of his ex-wife, who was also his cousin.

Wearing a grey jumper, he sat and listened to proceedings with the aid of a Somali interpreter.

The court heard that Asiyah was found lying in a large pool of blood on the living room floor of 8 Ludlow Close in the early hours of Tuesday, August 22 2017, after police were called to the home following reports of a disturbance.

The 27-year-old mum-of-two died at the scene and the jury was told that a post mortem revealed a stab wound to the right of her neck severed an artery and was the cause of death.

Addressing the jury of five women and seven men, Adam Vaitilingam QC, prosecuting, detailed how police were first called to Ludlow Close at around 11pm on August 21, after neighbours reported hearing “a lot of shouting”.

Officers found the front door locked, so spoke to Dahir through the front window and were told there had been a fight involving Asiyah and Dahir’s sister, Jamala Hassan, who had left by the time police arrived. Asiyah confirmed this story.

Vaitilingam continued: “It was not long after this, shortly after midnight on August 22, that neighbours were again troubled by noise from the address.

“They heard shouting that became screaming. Police returned to the address and climbed through the front window. They found Asiyah’s body lying in a large pool of blood.”

She had suffered two stab wounds, one to either side of her neck; one of which had severed an artery.

Dahir was arrested at the scene and the jury heard that he denied killing her. He told police that Asiyah had brought a knife into the living room and was trying to hit him with it.

The defendant said that he had tried to take the knife off her and she had flung backwards and it was then that it “hit her neck”.

Dahir’s case is that her death was a complete accident and happened when he was trying to stop her attacking him with the knife.

The court heard that since Dahir and Asiyah’s separation, Dahir had sole custody of their two children, although they were not present on the night she died.

The trial continues at Bristol Crown Court

Vaitilingam detailed a number of witness accounts that will be heard in full during the trial.

He said that one witness, Nasrin Mohammed, recalled hearing screaming and says she heard a woman shouting: “Adan stop, leave me alone, get off me. Please, please Adan I love you, drop the knife please.”

The jury was told that another witness heard the shout of: “Stop it, put down the knife, I love you.”

The prosecution heard that in a statement, Saed Hassan, who lived nearby at the time of the incident, described seeing a man get a knife and then wrestling with a woman on the floor. He heard her say: “I love you, don’t hurt me,” and then: “Kill me,” before it went quiet.

The pathologist concluded that Asiyah died from a stab wound to her neck which cut through her carotid artery and stated that she also sustained another injury to her neck and had a wound on her upper lip.

Asiyah was found to have drank a significant amount of alcohol.

The court heard that analysis of blood showed that Asiyah’s movements were limited once she started to bleed. Her blood was also found smeared on the handles of a window.

Vaitilingam told the just: “One of the questions you will have to ask is whether she was trying to escape and whether the defendant shut the window to stop her from escaping in her panic as she realised she might be about to die.”

The jury is yet to hear from the defence, Edward Burgess QC.

The trial continues.

Main image: Asiyah Harris