JUSTICE FIGHT
suggesting injuries that looked selfinflicted could look that way because they were. Both sides advanced flawed arguments and, to me, it seems very likely the deceased killed herself.”
Mindy’s appeal was dismissed and a referral to the Criminal Cases Review Commission also failed – yet a family campaign to prove her innocence continues with Mr Afzal’s backing. “The more I think about this case the more I think ‘Oh my God.’ The focus was on the suspect and everyone jumped on the same bus,” he said. “I’ve promised to do all I can to help the campaign.” Mindy’s parents Paul, 58, and Suki, 56, want the case urgently re-investigated. Postie Paul said: “We have never doubted
Mindy’s innocence.
She will never get her lost years in prison back but she can be vindicated.”
Paul believes police decided to nail Mindy as soon as she contacted them to say she had visited Sana to warn her over Sair.
She was arrested and questioned 11 times in four days before being charged. He said: “As soon as Mindy came forward, the police narrative was she must have been the killer. But all the evidence was circumstantial. There was no blood found
on her or in her car. They said she crawled through a small window but there wasn’t a scratch on her.
“We think the police didn’t bother to investigate any other possibilities once they had Mindy in custody.
“They never looked at suicide, despite evidence pointing that way. To us, it was a dereliction of duty.”
TRAUMATIC
Mindy is in HMP Foston Hall in Derbyshire, due for parole next year.
But her family say she will not stop fighting to prove her innocence. Suki said: “She is humble and respectful and wants justice. It’s been a traumatic experience for 13 years.
“We trusted the justice system but it’s failed us.” Ex-detective Mark Williams-Thomas has probed the case in his podcast The Detective. He too says he has “serious concerns”
about the conviction. “I’ve found compelling evidence Sana killed herself,” he said. “The prosecution case was Mindy climbed through a window with a gap of 1ft, managing to leave no forensic trace. It’s clear the defence totally failed to identify the issues with the police theory.”
Solicitors are now reassessing the case for the family. Paul added: “We are so grateful to Nazir and Mark. We need other experts to offer a hand.
“We want people to listen to the podcast and make their own minds up. But we know our daughter isn’t a killer.”
Mindy’s barrister Stephen Kamlish said: “We will be asking an eminent forensic pathologist and other experts to examine the evidence afresh.
“We’re likely to submit our case to the Criminal Cases Review Commission later this year.”
Sana’s family declined to comment.