Uber driver guilty of smothering his children to death
AN UBER driver smothered his two children with a petrol-soaked cloth and then tried to kill his wife in a gas explosion after his “hopes for a good life in England” failed, the court heard.
Endris Mohammed attempted to murder his wife, Penil Teklehaimanot, by tampering with a gas pipe and setting fire to the family home in Hamstead, Birmingham.
Yesterday he was found guilty of two counts of murder and one of attempted murder at Birmingham Crown Court.
Mohammed had denied the murders of Saros Endris, eight, and his sister Leanor, six, claiming diminished responsibility allegedly caused by a depressive disorder. The jury at the two-week trial was told he appeared normal in the run-up to the deaths.
Mohammed, who will be sentenced on Monday, pursed his lips but showed no other sign of emotion as he was found guilty after just 30 minutes deliberation by the jury.
Mohammed, who suffered burns to his head after setting the passenger side of his car alight on the night of the killings, admitted smothering his children. He did not give evidence but argued through his legal team that he was depressed about his future and had money worries.
The 47-year-old fled in his car after killing Saros and Leanor at home in the early hours of Oct 28 2016, having bought a fuel can and three litres of petrol the previous day.
Mohammed had met his wife in 2006 in Kent, after they came to Britain from East Africa as asylum seekers.
Giving evidence, Mrs Teklehaimanot said Mohammed was “a gentle, quiet man” who had not seemed angry or irritable in the months before her children were killed.
The court heard Mohammed said he had decided to end his own life because his “hopes for a good life in England” had failed, but police inquiries showed the family were able to live off Mrs Teklehaimanot’s earnings as a care worker.