Man who stabbed love rival to death at petrol station guilty of murder

A man has been found guilty of murder after repeatedly stabbing his love rival with a zombie-style knife when he “lost control” at a petrol station.

Haseeb Majid, 22, admitted fatally wounding Mohammed Duraab Khan on the forecourt of a Texaco garage in Meadow Lane, Nottingham, on January 31 but claimed he was acting in self-defence and denied the charge of murder.

Majid, of Wilford Crescent in The Meadows, Nottingham, was convicted of murder but found not guilty of possession of a bladed weapon at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday after a three-week trial and around 11 hours of jury deliberations.

The court heard that Majid “feared violence” from Mr Khan, 26, because he “threatened” the defendant during phone calls and vandalised his car in the weeks leading up to the fatal attack.

Majid’s ex-girlfriend became reacquainted with Mr Khan in September last year which “developed on from being a friendship”, and caused “bad-blood” between the two men, the court was told.

On the evening of January 31, the defendant followed Mr Khan, who was a passenger in a black Audi, to the petrol station forecourt where he approached the car concealing a knife, which is believed to have had a 12-inch blade, and wearing a balaclava, the court heard.

Majid claimed he only intended to “scare” Mr Khan with the knife, but the court heard that he “lost control” after Mr Khan struck him three times to his left wrist with a steering lock.

The jury was told that Majid inflicted up to 16 wounds in 13 seconds to Mr Khan’s left arm, left leg, torso, and back, including wounds which penetrated his internal organs.

Mr Khan died from his injuries a short time after paramedics arrived at the scene.

In Majid’s prepared statement which was read to the court, he said that if Mr Khan had not “come for” him at the petrol station he “would have only scared him”.

Police did not recover the weapon or balaclava when Majid was arrested.

Judge Steven Coupland told the defendant, who faces a mandatory life term: “You have been committed on count one and I will sentence you at a later date. You will be remanded in custody.”

The defendant will be sentenced on a date to be fixed at the same court.