A man who stabbed his wife to death in front of their baby after tracking her to a women’s refuge had threatened to “kill her if she ever left him,” a court has heard.
Kulsuma Akter, 27, suffered more than 25 knife injuries in an attack by her husband Habibur Masum, 26, after he confronted her in the street while she was pushing their seven-month-old son in a pram.
A trial at Bradford Crown Court has heard Masum tracked Ms Akter to a refuge in Bradford, where she had been staying since January 2024 after he held a knife to her throat during an assault at their home in Oldham.
On Friday, Ms Akter’s sister-in-law said during their marriage that Masum had stopped her wearing make-up and checked her phone to see who she was talking to.
A statement from Minara Begum read in court said Ms Akter had to ask permission from her husband before going out.
Ms Begum said the couple had married in Bangladesh and moved to the UK in March 2022 so Masum could continue his studies.
She said they “both seemed happy” and Masum seemed “quite obsessed with” Ms Akter, who started working at Park Cakes in Oldham.
“Masum was not too keen on Kulsuma working but she would worry about paying the bills,” Ms Begum said.
“I told her she could enhance her beauty even more with the right make-up … Masum would get jealous if he saw photos and told her not to do make-up any more, so she didn’t.”
The statement described how arguments between Ms Akter and Masum escalated to “ a more serious level” and she went to stay with her brother and sister-in-law at one point.
Ms Begum said: “He kept massaging her telling he was going to do crazy things because she was with us and not at home, and kept asking her where the kitchen knife was.
“After this happened I told Masum his behaviour was not right and their relationship should not be this way.
“Masum did not like this coming from a woman or me speaking to him this way. He did not like me very much.”
Jurors heard Ms Akter returned to Masum, but arguments between them “continued to get worse”.
Ms Begum said during one argument he divorced her under Islamic law by “saying it out loud three times”, but later said she was confused and he had only said it twice.
She said things “got worse after the baby was born” and Ms Akter “always complained he wasn’t helping her with the baby and always expected his food to be prepared after work”.
“She also told me if the baby cried during the night he would get angry and frustrated,” Ms Begum said.
Her statement said Masum had made several threats to kill Ms Akter, adding: “She told me he would tell her if she ever left him he would kill her.”
Jurors have heard Ms Akter was moved to a refuge after telling police that Masum had assaulted her, held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her over a “completely innocuous” message she received from a male colleague at a factory.
Ms Begum said after the incident Ms Akter told her: “He will be okay once he kills me.”
She added: “Following this assault Kulsuma asked if Masum killed her would I look after (the baby) for her and take care of him.”
The court heard Masum tracked Ms Akter to the refuge through her phone location, and she had been due to move but went out walking with a friend on the day she died after Masum’s brother told her he was in Spain. Masum also put photos on Facebook claiming he was in Spain.
Masum denies murdering Ms Akter but has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and possession of a knife.
He also denies two charges of assault, one count of making threats to kill and one charge of stalking.
The trial continues.
