Police Find Knife in Birmingham Taxi Driver Murder Case
Aug 12 2009
The weapon believed to have been used to kill a Birmingham taxi driver in a brutal murder has been recovered, police have revealed.
A knife was discovered in Mohammed Arshad’s Ford Galaxy after he was stabbed to death last month.
The father-of-three died in Selly Oak Hospital hours after being found fatally injured in Wast Hills Lane, Hopwood, on the Birmingham-Worcestershire border on July 22.
A post mortem examination showed he had suffered multiple stab wounds to the head, one of which had punctured his skull and brain.
West Mercia Police have put up a £10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the murderer.
They have also released a composite image created from CCTV pictures of the man who is believed to be Mr Arshad’s last known customer.
Detectives said that the person who carried out the attack is likely to have had blood on their clothing.
Det Supt Sheila Thornes said: “We are still appealing for the male calling himself Peter who made the telephone call from the kiosk in Monyhull Hall Road at 8.19pm that evening to come forward.
“If you know anyone who came home that night with blood on them please contact the incident room.
“If they are not responsible they can easily be eliminated from our inquiries.
“This was an unprovoked attack from behind. Mohammed Arshad was going about his normal business, working hard to provide a service to his community.”
Mr Arshad was married with three small sons and he was a self-employed taxi driver for A Cars, based on the Pershore Road.
He was dispatched to Monyhull Hall Road after a man, who gave his name as Peter, called A Cars from a kiosk outside the Spar shop at 8.19pm to book the cab. Mr Arshad collected the fare ten minutes later.
Det Supt Thornes revealed that at 8.36pm the taxi was seen by a witness in Wast Hills Lane, in Kings Norton.
She added: “The vehicle was observed turning in the road before driving off towards Redhill Road. The witness then saw Arshad lying on the verge.
“He was taken to hospital with serious head injuries and died a few hours later.”
The taxi was found abandoned about a mile away in Shannon Road.
She added that there had been an excellent response to a number of public appeals and she wanted to thank witnesses who had already been in contact with information.
She added: “A CCTV trawl of the area has revealed some images of that person and we are appealing to him or anyone who knows him to contact us.
“We want the public to tell us who he is and where he is from.”
Mr Arshad’s brother-in-law, Mohammed Sheraz Hussain, who has also worked as a taxi driver, had previously said that Mr Arshad would never have put up a fight if someone tried to rob him.
Mr Ashad’s body was flown back to Pakistan for burial after a funeral service at a mosque in Small Heath on July 24.
Source; BirminghamPost.net
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