Husband found guilty of murdering wife with claw hammer

A jury took less than an hour to find Yahya Babiker unanimously guilty of carrying out the brutal attack on his student wife as their children slept next door.

Babiker then wrapped up his wife Randa Kamblawi's bloodsoaked body in a duvet and dumped her in a bath before fleeing from Scotland.

He had claimed his wife had slipped twice in the bath and hit her head on the taps, but the jury at the High Court in Perth rejected his version of events at the end of a 12-day trial.

Babiker, 45, a prisoner at HMP Edinburgh, was found guilty of murdering Mrs Kamblawi, 34, by repeatedly hitting her with a claw hammer at their home at 10/4 Nicolson Street on 19 or 20 October last year.

The shopfitter had gone out on the afternoon of 19 October to purchase the murder weapon and was caught on CCTV spending 3.99 on a Homebase Value claw hammer.

He was seen trying out a crowbar for size before picking up the claw hammer and paying for it, then further CCTV images showed him returning to the flat.

Sometime later that night he launched a murderous attack on his wife of eight years as she lay in bed, hitting her on at least five occasions with the hammer.

Her skull was severely fractured and blood splashes were left on the walls in the bedroom and hallway as he moved her lifeless body to the bathroom.

Babiker dropped her body into the bath and made a start on cleaning up evidence of the attack, but there was so much blood that he quickly gave up and decided to flee the scene.

He took the couple's two young children to the home of one of her relatives in Niddrie Mains Avenue, Edinburgh, in the early hours of 20 October and told them his wife was "tired" and unwell.

Babiker was then spotted on CCTV taking money from a cash machine before getting in a taxi to Edinburgh Airport where he tried to book a one-way flight to Paris.

However, he only had 430 in his account and was unable to pay the 565 price of an Air France flight. Instead he paid cash for a flight to Heathrow and fled to London.

The court heard how he walked round London for several hours, as Lothian and Borders Police began hunting for him, until he finally decided to return to Edinburgh later the same day.

Sudanese national Babiker took a bus north before handing himself in to the Royal Edinburgh psychiatric hospital and explaining that his wife's body lay in their home.

He claimed to police that he had pushed his wife in the bath as a "joke" because the water was cold and that she had slipped and fallen and struck her head twice.

But the jury accepted the Crown's contention that Babiker had shown "evil intent" by buying the claw hammer and that the CCTV footage from Homebase was "very damning".

Advocate depute Pino di Medio said: "The CCTV clips allow us to trace, to some extent, what Yahya Babiker did from the 19th to the 21st of October 2009. The Monday afternoon clip shows him within Homebase.

"The Crown says it is a very damning piece of evidence. You have seen the murder weapon being selected. It might be thought to be an unforgettable piece of evidence.

"It is the Crown's position that Yahya Babiker took Randa Kamblawi's body into the bathroom and dumped her body in the bath. He also dumped the bedding from the master bedroom on top of the deceased.

"She was subjected to a violent, lethal attack," Mr di Medio said. "There were at least five blows. He has attempted to clean up. That must have taken some considerable time."

The jury was not given any background evidence to explain the motive for the attack and they were described as a "normal" couple who were an active part of Edinburgh's Sudanese community.

The court was told that they met and married shortly after Babiker spotted his future bride on a wedding video belonging to one of her family members.

A victim statement from Mrs Kamblawi's mother was given to the court in which she described her daughter as a beautiful person who would help anyone.

Lady Stacey said she could only impose a life sentence, but the recommended minimum custodial period will be decided after reports have been prepared. Babiker will be sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh on 29 June.