The father of a 16-month-old baby girl shaken to death by an unlicensed dog breeder has said he will “never recover” from the event after it ‘ripped his life apart’.
In his absence on Monday, Kamran Haider, 39, was found guilty of murder and child cruelty after he attacked Nusayba Umar, causing catastrophic brain injuries, on 13 September 2019.
He was sentenced today at the Old Bailey, again in absence, to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 20 years for Nusayba’s murder and 18 months’ imprisonment for child cruelty against her. The sentences are to be served concurrently.
Haider murdered the baby girl just five weeks after meeting her mother, Asiyah Amazir, on a dating website.
She called 999 and wrongly claimed her daughter had fallen ill on a bus, the Old Bailey heard. Nusayba, who weighed just 17lb, was rushed to hospital but died four days later.
Nusayba’s father said: “This one event has ripped my life apart and I will never recover. This statement is made sometime after this happened. The time passing has gone no way to make me feel better. I do not sleep. I have managed to start eating, albeit I lost around 15kg in weight when she died.
“When I go to bed at night, I wonder what I could have done differently to have avoided this. I had dreamed of my daughter growing into a good Muslim, this was taken away by the events that unfolded.”
Following Haider’s sentencing, Nusayba’s mother spoke of never being able to see her daughter’s “ first day at school, her first tooth loss” and other “beautiful milestones that a mother witnesses throughout her children’s lives” following her “heart-breaking” death.
She said: “Nusayba was subjected to the most horrible experiences at the hands of this man towards the end of her life. I will never forget the events that led to her death for as long as I live. I vividly remember the things she suffered and that noise she made on the last day of her life will haunt me forever.
“I will never get to hold her again or kiss her tiny hands, tickle her, put her in a pretty dress or buy her a toy that I know she wants, all of the most benign and underrated things that most take for granted as parents. These have been taken from me and cannot be given back.
“Something as simple as changing her nappy or doing her laundry is now a heart breaking memory for me and these are just some of the life-long impacts of this crime that I’m able to verbalise.
“There are a million more things I am not able to think of words for, to be able to really explain the immediate and life-long impacts of my daughter being murdered, not just for me but also for the rest of her family and we will have to live with these things for the rest of our lives.”
Haider lived with his mother in a four-bedroom house in Ilford, north-east London. Ms Amazir, from Newham, east London, met him through a dating website and effectively moved in to help with his dog breeding business, jurors heard.
At first, Ms Amazir had no real concerns about Haider’s behaviour - which could be “snappy” and “verbally aggressive”, the court heard.
Just over a fortnight before the fatal attack, Nusayba allegedly suffered a separate head injury while in the care of the defendant.
On the day of Haider’s killer attack, Ms Amazir got up to tend to the dogs when she heard Nusayba crying, jurors heard.
As she went towards her room, she allegedly heard the defendant say “shut up, Nusayba” followed by a slapping sound. She heard Nusayba “yelp” in response, jurors were told.
Afterwards, the girl did not seem herself, though there was no outward sign of injury, the court heard.
At around 5pm, Nusayba began having a fit and Haider suggested to Ms Amazir that she take the youngster to her home to “relax”, jurors heard. Ms Amazir left and called an ambulance from the bus stop at the end of the road.
She told the operator her daughter started having a fit on a bus, only later disclosing she was scared of Haider, the court was told.
When paramedics arrived, it was clear Nusayba was “gravely ill” and she taken to hospital.
Her condition did not improve and, on 17 September 2019, intensive care support was withdrawn and she died.
Detective chief inspector Larry Smith, who led the investigation, said: “Haider is a controlling and violent man who is prone to bouts of extreme aggression and violence. Nusayba bore the brunt of that violence on the day she was entrusted in his care and she suffered an attack that would lead to the end of her life.
“What happened on 13 September has never been fully established. But it is beyond doubt that the injuries inflicted on her could not have been accidental and were caused by Haider.
“Nusayba’s mother and family will grieve for many, many years as a result of this harrowing case. We will continue to support her however we can.
“I’d like to praise my officers who have worked so hard to present the case against Haider which has led to his conviction. It is right that he now faces decades behind bars where he can reflect on the consequences of his deplorable actions.”
With additional reporting from the Press Association
