Husband jailed for at least 22 years for ‘brutal’ murder of his wife

Husband jailed for at least 22 years for ‘brutal’ murder of his wife

The family of a mother of four have said they were struggling to understand how her husband could “take her life in such a horrible and brutal way”.

Sinead Wooding’s partially burned body was found in woodland in Leeds in May last year.

On Wednesday her husband Akshar Ali, 27, and a woman called Yasmin Ahmed, also 27, were both jailed for life at the city’s crown court and told they would not be released for at least 22 years, police said.

Sinead Wooding, who was murdered in Leeds in May 2017. (West Yorkshire Police/PA)
Sinead Wooding was murdered in May 2017 (West Yorkshire Police/PA)

Prosecutors said a knife and a hammer were probably used in the attack and, although the couple had a volatile relationship, Ali had been violent and controlling towards his wife.

Ms Wooding’s body was left in the cellar for two days before it was dumped in Adel Woods and set alight.

Ali, of Scott Hall Road, Leeds, and Ahmed, of Reginald Mount, Leeds,  each denied murder.

Ahmed’s housemate Vicky Briggs, 25, of Throstle Road, Leeds, was found guilty of assisting an offender and jailed for four years, police said.

Yasmin Ahmed, who was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum of 22 years for murdering Sinead Wooding. West Yorkshire Police/PA Wire.

“Those responsible were the people who should have been looking after and loving Sinead, especially her husband Ali.

“Instead these vile people murdered her in what must have been a horrific ordeal, and then treated her body disgustingly as they tried to cover up what they had done.”

The statement went on: “We feel the pain of our loss every waking moment of every day and are still struggling to understand how another human being could be so cruel and take her life in such a horrible and brutal way.

“This is a pain that will never go away and the family will have to live it with for the rest of our lives.

“Sinead’s four children are having to grow up without their mum and as they get older will have to deal with knowing that their father killed their mum. No child should have to deal with that.”

Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Spencer, who led the investigation, said: “The murder of Sinead Wooding was the most horrific and brutal attack that I have ever encountered in my 28 years in policing.

“I was genuinely shocked that anyone could take the life of another human being in such a cruel and callous way.”

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