Murdered Bradford woman ‘was six months pregnant’

Victim Nadia Khan was understood to have been six to seven months pregnant when she was stabbed to death by a man now in police custody - believed to be her husband and the father of her children.

Mrs Khan, 24, was found in a property on Holker Street, Manningham, yesterday afternoon.

West Yorkshire Police said a 26-year-old man from the Bradford Moor area of the city was arrested at 3am.

Locals in the area said her unborn baby was taken to hospital while her body remained in the house, but doctors were unable to save the tiny child.

Neighbours have paid tribute to the victim, who was described by a relative as “an angel”.

Residents said she lived at the terraced house in the Manningham area with her mother Shaheen Khan and her two children, a son and daughter whose ages are not known.

Her husband, named only as Tariq, is understood to have lived there after moving to the country from Pakistan six months ago.

One man recounted how he came across Nadia’s son and daughter in the street phoning police, and went inside to find her body.

The nearby resident, who was shaken and did not want to give a name, said: “I was dropping something off for a friend next door when I saw the children in the street.

“They were calling police and I asked if they were okay. The boy said his mum had been stabbed. Police and an ambulance were here two minutes later.

“I went in and found her body in the kitchen. There was blood everywhere. I can’t get the picture out of my head. It was there in my mind when I woke first thing this morning. What has happened is terrible. I am very upset.”

A woman who identified herself as Nadia’s aunt, but did not want to give her name, said: “She was beautiful. She was such a good girl, she didn’t deserve this.

“She was seven months pregnant at the time, this is just terrible. She never used social media or anything, she was an angel.”

A woman staying with her mother on the street, who was friends with Nadia, said she had been her friend since the family moved in a decade ago.

The woman, who also did not want to be named, said: “Nadia was a lovely person, so nice and joyful to be around or whenever you talked to her.

“She was a good friend too. I just feel sad because she was about six months pregnant and I’m pregnant too. Everyone is in so much shock that this has happened on our street.

“This is her mum’s house and she was left alone in the house at the time when it happened, although we don’t really know what’s happened.

“Everyone knows each other around here, and everyone keeps to themselves.”

Detective Chief Inspector Mark McManus, from the Force’s Homicide and Major Enquiry Team, said the suspect “was arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in police custody this morning”.

He added: “I can confirm that we are not looking for anyone else in connection with this investigation.”

A police statement yesterday revealed the victim had suffered stab wounds. Officers were called to the address in Holker Street at 4.48pm yesterday where the grim discovery was made.

Detective Chief Inspector Jim Dunkerley, from the Force’s Homicide and Major Enquiry Team, said: “The body of a woman was found by police and paramedics inside a property on Holker Street. She had suffered fatal stab wounds.

“While the murder investigation is at an early stage we are treating this as a domestic related incident. Enquiries are currently ongoing to trace a man in connection with the death.”

Mr Dunkerley added: “This was a very serious incident and will understandably cause a considerable amount of distress and upset amongst the local community.

“To reassure local people we have increased patrols by neighbourhood officers in the area and I do not believe there is any wider danger to members of the public.”

Anyone with information that can assist the investigation is asked to contact police via: 101 quoting crime log number 1099 from June 14.

The atmosphere on the street today remained quiet, with shocked residents stood watching as police remained on the scene.

The street remains cordoned off although most of the street has now been re-opened.

Family friend Aneesa Khan, 33, said: “I used to be friendly with Nadia’s mother and we still see each other at weddings and around.

“It is just awful. She was a lovely woman, although I did not know her very well.”

A resident on a nearby street said: “She was from a good family. I didn’t know them but I feel so sad for them because not only has her mother lost a daughter, but a granddaughter too.

“This has torn the family apart. She was a good and quiet person and I would sometimes see her as a younger girl walking about. She had two children but I don’t know their ages.

“I heard about what happened yesterday when I was at work then when I came home all the police were here.

“It’s normally a peaceful area although you have your odd troublemaker. But hearing about this has just shaken everyone. This community is in total shock and nobody can believe what’s happened.

“You see things like this on the news then when it happens near you and it’s so unexpected it’s just terrible.”