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Manchester Evening News
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Saffron Otter

'Killed in their own home by someone they knew and trusted': Heartbreaking video shows teen moments before she was drugged and killed along with her mum

These are the final moments of a young girl walking home from school before she was drugged and killed along with her mum.

Lancashire Police today released the heartbreaking video footage of 14-year-old Vian Mangrio's last sighting as her killer, Shahbaz Khan, was put behind bars for life.

The bodies of mother Dr Saman Mir Sacharvi, 49, and her daughter - who dreamed of becoming a barrister - were discovered at their fire-damaged home in Burnley, Lancashire, last October.

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Khan, 52, who is to serve a minimum of 34 years, had previously told a jury at Preston Crown Court that both were alive and well when he left the address on September 30 last year.

But on the 13th day of his trial – just before the closing speeches were to be made – he changed his pleas to guilty to murder and also admitted a count of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

Dr Saman Mir Sacharvi, (right), and Vian Mangrio (Lancashire Constabulary /PA Wire)

Khan, a former computer network engineer in his native Pakistan, strangled psychiatrist Dr Sacharvi and attacked her teenage daughter when she returned from school. Both victims were drugged with diazepam.

Vian’s severely burned body was found in the lounge of the semi-detached property in Colne Road, Reedley, on October 1 2020, and an attempt had also been made to set Dr Sacharvi’s body alight in the front bedroom upstairs.

Shahbaz Khan (Lancashire Constabulary /PA Wire)

In a series of tweets about the killings, Lancashire Police said: "Vian had returned home from school at around 3.25pm that day, at which point she was also drugged and killed.

"This is the last known footage of Vian that day. Harrowingly, we will never know the full extent of what awaited her when she arrived home."

Another video clip shared by the police showed the pair laughing at home as Vian played a trick on her mother.

Khan was arrested after CCTV footage from September 30 showed him visiting the home where he had previously carried out work, including a garage conversion.

Police later found jewellery worth tens of thousands of pounds belonging to Dr Sacharvi in the loft of Khan’s home in Ribble Avenue, Burnley.

Also recovered from his address was a purple Samsung phone which contained Google searches on the morning of September 30 for “obsessed” and “defined obsessed”.

Khan’s wife, Rabia Shahbaz, was jailed for 30 months after a jury found her guilty of perverting the course of justice when she provided a false alibi for her husband.

Sentencing, Mr Justice Goss told Khan – who spent most of the hearing leaning forward in a rocking motion with his face to the floor – “These were pre-meditated, callous and merciless murders of a devoted mother and her loving, teenage daughter.

“They were planned and determined in their execution. You set about your preparations with care and I have no doubt you were motivated by financial gain.

“By your actions, Shahbaz Khan, a family has lost two loved members whose lives were taken in the most dreadful way.

“Nothing this court can do is able to undo what you have done and the appalling and tragic consequences of what happened.”

Following the sentencing, Det Ch Insp Pauline Stables, of Lancashire Police, said: “A mother and daughter lost their lives in a brutal, shocking attack, and I cannot imagine what they went through that day.

“The women were killed in their own home, by someone they knew and trusted.

“As a result of his actions, Khan not only took two lives but caused unimaginable heartache and distress to all those who knew Saman and Vian and it is clear they are missed terribly every single day."

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