Editor: This is an update from ‘Pungentpeppers’ on that horrific case of a refugee in the UK who tortured and murdered his wife.  For new readers, our first post may be found by clicking here.

 Murdered His Wife While Koran Played, Update

This is an update to a murder trial story we presented earlier involving a family of refugees from Kuwait who had settled in Sheffield, England. The murderer had four wives; while he was murdering his second wife, he played the Koran at high blast and made travel arrangements for a Hajj to Mecca!

Per the prior post, Thahi Harroba Manaa, 37, pleaded guilty with diminished capacity (i.e., insanity) to the unbelievably horrific murder-by-torture of his second wife, Sara Al Shourefi, 28. His mother was at the property during the 105-minute attack but did not call for help. Nor did the neighbors who heard Sara screaming.

Per “The Star” news, the murderer’s sister testified that he had a long history of mental problems. Sometimes he was normal and loving; but, at other times, he acted like a different person and talked of conspiracies. He was suspicious of “everything and everyone”.

The wife, Sara, had told her she was frightened of Manaa, who beat her and tore out clumps of her hair for trivial things, such as the house was not clean. In the months before the murder, Manaa had cut himself off from family (but not the mother presumably) and took Sara’s mobile phone away from her.

Dr. Rameesh Puri, a forensic psychiatrist, testified that Manaa had all the symptoms of schizophrenia at the time of the attack. His behavior was typical of someone who had “lost contact with reality”. For example, he called his own son a “one-eyed Satan” because he became convinced the child was not his.

Manaa’s four marriages were “characterised by morbid jealousy”. He divorced his first wife because of delusions she was having an affair with his brother. He divorced his wife Nadia over the telephone because he thought she was unfaithful. [There was another wife named “Kholoud” whom he married when Sara was pregnant for the first time.]

Sara, Manaa’s second wife – the murder victim, was so desperate to prove she was not having an affair she offered to go to Mecca with her husband to plead her innocence, but Manaa wanted to go on his own first in case she had called ahead to have him arrested. [It’s not clear why he feared arrest. Sara, cut off from society, had no one to tell her that you cannot reason with “crazy”. She believed it was “not culturally right to speak to the police or medical professionals against her husband”. Thus, she suffered years of abuse in silence.]

On Monday, the jury at Sheffield Crown Court found Manaa guilty of murder. At the end of the trial, Sara’s surviving sister said, “Our parents are also suffering terribly, they believed Sara had come to the UK for a better life, they are distraught.” She added, “I am pleased that Thahi (the murderer) has not managed to trick anyone, not only will he be punished by God but he will spend a very long time in prison.” The sentencing will be at a later date.

Editor’s note: So what does the British taxpayer get for his/her generosity and kindness in welcoming this man to live among them?  They get to pay for his incarceration for life (assuming they don’t ever let him out!) and will most likely also financially support the children.

For further reading:

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/555813/Thahi-Harroba-Manaa-guilty-murder-wife-Sara-Al-Shourefi-Sheffield-Crown-Court
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/thahi-harroba-manaa-evil-husband-5093692
http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/local/sheffield-murder-accused-called-his-son-a-one-eyed-satan-1-7061105
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-31101145
http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/local/husband-accused-of-brutal-murder-of-wife-in-sheffield-has-mental-health-problems-1-7059127