Mum who shook ‘happy, smiling’ two-year-old daughter to death is jailed
A mum who shook her two-year-old daughter to death and then lied that she had choked on a biscuit has been jailed.
Omra Wali Jan died in hospital on February 9, 2024, having suffered severe, traumatic brain injuries caused by ‘extremely forceful shaking’ by her mother the previous November.
She had also been beaten, burned with a lighter and bitten over the course of several weeks in late 2023.
Morsal Mohammed Naim, 32, and husband Firooz Wali Jan, 32, admitted child cruelty at Manchester Crown Court. Naim was accused of murdering Omra but pleaded guilty to manslaughter during her trial.
Prosecutor John Elvidge KC said it is unclear exactly what each of them did in terms of the abuse, but told the court: ‘Neither parent was kept in the dark
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‘Both enabled and acquiesced in the forcible and deliberate infliction of severe injuries on Omra by one or both, over a period of time.
‘With each extra attack, this complicity inevitably increased, permitting less and less differentiation of roles.’
Greater Manchester Police released images of little Omra, taken ‘when she was being cared for by others, which show a happy, smiling, beautiful child’.
Naim was jailed for nine years, while Wali Jan was jailed for six years and nine months.
The court heard Omra was born in Afghanistan and raised by her father’s family. She came to live with her parents, Naim and Wali Jan, in Levenshulme in September 2023.
She struggled to settle into her new environment, with the accommodation described as a ‘tightly confined’ and of ‘poor quality’.
Naim did not leave the flat and would not leave Wali Jan alone with their daughter.
Over a number of weeks, Omra was abused, the court heard.
Naim and Wali Jan have not detailed exactly what they did.
But images and videos found on Naim’s phone revealed burn injuries to Omra’s right hand, bruising to her cheek, and an injury to her lip.
On November 30, 2023, Wali Jan went to work, leaving Omra with Naim.
Phone records show she deleted a number of calls she made to her husband’s family in Afghanistan.
Naim sent an audio message to another number at 5.44pm, which was later deleted.
Naim then made a number of unsuccessful calls to other family members before calling a distant relative.
She carried Omra, who was unconscious and not breathing, upstairs to a neighbour.
The court heard she lied that the toddler had choked on a biscuit.
An ambulance was called. Paramedics banged on the window, but there was no response. They initially thought it was a hoax call.
Eventually, a neighbour answered and medics were able to revive the child.
The court heard Omra had bruises and marks on her head and body.
She was rushed to Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, where a CT scan revealed she had suffered a severe brain injury involving multifocal subdural haemorrhage, extensive hypoxic brain injury, and multiple retinal haemorrhages in the right eye.
Omra was intubated and ventilated.
Life support was removed with the permission of the High Court on February 9, 2024.
A post mortem report concluded she died as a result of head injuries.
Mr Elvidge asked for the court to sentence the parents on the basis that ‘all of these injuries were inflicted deliberately in the family home’.
He said: ‘The injuries were caused with an implement used as a weapon or by biting.
‘These injuries were not caused by a fleeting contact and they would have caused Omra to flinch or move away, if she could.
‘When inflicted each injury would have caused extreme pain to Omra.’
Judge Mr Justice Turner called the pair’s behaviour towards their daughter ‘sadistic’.
He said of Naim: ‘Although you pleaded guilty to manslaughter very late in the day, you have never admitted anything about the following – why you attacked your daughter, what form the attack took, when and in what circumstances you did so, and what you did and for how long in the aftermath.’
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