Homerton man jailed for murdering wife for ‘financial gain’

Convicted: Quyum Miah

A Homerton man who attacked and killed his wife in her own home has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Quyum Miah, of High Street, Homerton had previously been found guilty of the murder of 40-year-old Yasmin Begum.

At Southwark Crown Court on Friday 9 June, the 41-year-old was told that he will serve a minimum of 33 years.

In passing sentence, Judge Hales KC stated that this was a particularly serious case in which she was in no doubt that the defendant had murdered Ms Begum for financial gain.

There was a significant degree of planning and premeditation.

The defendant had an admitted history of stealing from Ms Begum to fund his drug habit.

Yasmin was found collapsed in her home in Globe Road, Bethnal Green, shortly after 4pm on 24 March 2022.

Concerned school staff had gone to her home when she failed to collect her children from school.

Yasmin had been stabbed several times and items, including her bank card and jewellery she was wearing, had been taken.

Detective Chief Inspector Larry Smith, of the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, led the investigation.

He said: “The length of this prison sentence reflects not only the violence that Quyum Miah inflicted that day, but also the premeditation involved in taking Yasmin’s life.

“Our thoughts remain with Yasmin’s family as they continue to struggle with their loss.”

Miah was married to Yasmin but the pair had been separated for about a year, and divorce proceedings were under way.

Attention quickly fell on him, and detectives swiftly began to piece together his movements.

Forensic analysis of CCTV, together with dynamic interventions to secure evidence, ensured a compelling case was compiled against Miah.

On the morning of the murder, CCTV captured Miah leaving his address in Homerton at around 9.55am as he made his way to Yasmin’s home.

He was seen to be carrying a rucksack and a green and yellow bag for life.

Miah arrived in Globe Road at around 10:30am and a neighbour recalled seeing a man fitting his description loitering in the vicinity of Yasmin’s address.

Yasmin was going about her daily business, unaware that Miah was waiting close to her home.

She visited a neighbour at 2pm and left around half-an-hour later, saying she was going to the dentist after picking her children up from school.

At 2:36pm she briefly spoke on the phone to a friend.

The friend later recalled it sound as if Yasmin was in her house and nothing sounded out of the ordinary.

Miah then entered Yasmin’s flat and attacked her.

He stole her bank card and items of jewellery before fleeing the address, locking the door from the outside as he left.

He was next spotted on CCTV at 2:57pm heading north away from Yasmin’s address.

He was seen carrying the green and yellow bag for life which appeared full.

Miah dumped this bag in a rubbish bin.

When officers recovered it later, they found clothing stained with Yasmin’s blood inside.

In the hours following the murder, Miah used Yasmin’s bank card to withdraw £800 in cash.

Two days later, he pawned two items of her jewellery for around £200.

By this time, the police had found documentation inside Yasmin’s address confirming divorce proceedings were under way.

On searching his address in Homerton, officers found a trainer with traces of Yasmin’s blood on it.

They also found an item that had been stolen from inside her home.

Miah was arrested at a property in Plaistow on 27 March 2022.