Mikaeel Kular mother should be free - grandfather

THE mother found guilty of killing her three-year-old son before dumping his body in a suitcase should be freed from prison early to look after her other children, the youngster’s grandfather has said.

Rosdeep Adekoya has pleaded guilty to culpable homicide in the killing of her son Mikaeel Kular

Ahmed Saeed, 63, has distanced himself from a campaign calling for Rosdeep Adekoya to face murder charges for the death of one of her five children, Mikaeel Kular,

The grandfather, whose son Zaheed is Mikaeel’s biological father, says he believed Adekoya’s conviction last month for culpable homicide is enough.

His comments come after more than 5,000 people signed a “Justice for Mikaeel’ petition in protest at what they claim is the prosecutor’s failure to pursue a murder charge against the mother, who is due to be sentenced today.

Adekoya, 34, is at Cornton Vale prison in Stirling, where she is said to be under around the clock supervision.

The mother of five, who has had long-standing mental health problems, pleaded guilty to culpable homicide after admitting repeatedly punching Mikaeel between 12 and 15 January this year.

Mr Saeed said: “She should not be sentenced for too long as she has other kids to look after. It’s the children I feel most sorry for. If she gets treatment, she might be able to be a proper mother.”

Although Adekoya was originally charged with murder, her guilty plea to the reduced charge was accepted by the Crown.

Prosecutors accepted that although she committed a “severe” assault on Mikaeel – beating him with her fists 40 times over two days – her actions fell short of the “wicked recklessness” demanded for a murder charge under Scots law.

The beauty therapist is said to have assaulted her son after he was sick following a family meal at a restaurant and later found him dead in the bedroom of that their flat in the Drylaw area of Edinburgh.

Hiding his body in a suitcase which she dumped in Fife, Adekoya then told police that Mikaeel had gone missing, sparking one of the biggest missing person inquiries Police Scotland had undertaken.

The search saw hundreds of police officers working with the coastguard and lifeboat teams, helicopters, search dogs and the emergency services. along with teams of volunteers to comb the area.

The suitcase containing Mikaeel’s body was found eventually in woodland in Kirkcaldy, disguised by branches, behind a bungalow belonging to Adekoya’s parents and sister.

Despite Adekoya’s crime, Mr Saeed said that he did not hate her.

He said: “I’ve never met her so I don’t hold any anger towards her. I feel sorry for her.”

His stance is at direct odds with son Zahid who believes Adekoya should “stay in jail until she dies”.

In the wake of Mikaeel’s death, an investigation was ordered into how Adekoya and her children fell off the radar of social workers. The independent inquiry was launched 
by Fife council after it emerged Mikaeel and his twin sister, now four, were taken into foster 
care in Fife several times because of their mother’s neglect, emotional ill health and erratic 
lifestyle.