Couple jailed for death of eight-year-old

Polly Chowdhury (left) and her lover Kiki Muddar who have been jailed for the manslaughter of Chowdhury's daughter, Ayesha Ali. Pic: Metropolitan Police/PA.

A judge at the Old Bailey handed Kiki Muddar, 43, the “lion’s share” of responsibility for the misery inflicted on Ayesha Ali while also jailing the girl’s mother Polly Chowdhury, 35, for 13 years.

Both women were convicted of the manslaughter of Ayesha whose body was found at their home in Chadwell Heath, east London, covered in more than 40 injuries, including a bite mark and carpet burns.

Their trial heard that Muddar created a fantasy world of alter egos on Facebook and text messages to seduce Chowdhury and turn her against her daughter because she saw her as a threat.

Sentencing Muddar, judge Christopher Moss QC told her: “You inhabited an extraordinary fantasy, fictional world of deceit and lies and you determinedly immersed Polly Chowdhury in that world. You clearly developed a deep hatred of little Ayesha.

“So it was that, in the months leading up to her death, Ayesha was subjected at the hands of both of you to a life of cruelty and misery that defies belief.”

He told Chowdhury she was in a “fundamental position of trust in which you disgracefully failed”.

Earlier, in mitigation, Chowdhury’s lawyer, Ali Bajwa QC, said Muddar was the driving force of the abuse leading up to Ayesha’s death, saying his client was “skilfully and mercilessly” exploited by the older woman who had brainwashed Chowdhury into believing Ayesha was possessed and needed to be physically chastised.

The abuse came to a head on August 28, 2013 when Ayesha was killed. The next morning, Muddar dialled 999 to report Chowdhury had tried to kill herself and that Ayesha was dead. Paramedics discovered the child’s body in her bedroom. The cause of death was a head injury.

Muddar, of Green Lane, Ilford, and Chowdhury, of Broomfield Road, Chadwell Heath, had both denied murder, manslaughter and causing or allowing the death of a child between March 1 and August 29, 2013.

Sentencing, Judge Moss paid tribute to the “courage and personal restraint” of Ayesha’s father Afsar Ali, a witness in the case.

In a statement afterwards, Mr Ali said: “This has been the hardest and most difficult thing that I have ever had to do in my life. It is impossible to find the words to describe my feelings.”