Seyed Khan murder: Man jailed for dad-of-seven axe death

An axe-wielding shop assistant who murdered a father-of-seven over fears that he would be sent back to Pakistan has been jailed for life.

Seyed Khan's body was found dead on 1 February, a week after Imran Mohammad attacked him at the A-Z Furniture and Carpets shop where they both worked.

Mohammad, 31, of Ilford, murdered the 49-year-old after he suspected him of stealing money.

He was told to serve at least 24 years in prison at the Old Bailey on Friday.

Mohammad was also sentenced to five years in prison, to run concurrently, after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice.

Judge Anne Molyneux said: "You carried out your plans brutally and without mercy."

Muhammed had previous convictions for dishonesty and was an over-stayer in the country, giving him a motive to kill, the court heard.

Just four days before the attack, Muhammad had been searching "how to kill a man with a hammer" and "how to kill a man with a punch" on his phone.

After the attack, he tried to clean up bloodstains in the shop and painted over the walls.

In the early hours of 25 January, he then used a shopping trolley to transport Mr Khan's body and the murder weapon to Ilford Cemetery, where they were later found.

Muhammad denied murder, maintaining Mr Khan owed him money and had made sexual advances towards him.

During Muhammad's sentencing, Judge Molyneux said the attack was "premeditated".

She added: "You are a liar, a manipulator and a thief, and had once again been suspected of stealing.

"You attacked him savagely and brutally with the axe.

"You hit him to the head 12 times - the force was so great that you fractured his skull.

"The injury to the back of his hand shows he tried to defend himself. He never stood a chance against you."