Man jailed for mistaken identity motorist murder in Birmingham

Muhammed Sohail, 25, died after he was fatally shot while in his car

A man who fatally shot a motorist outside his home in a case of mistaken identity has been jailed.

Jervais Boyaram shot dead Muhammed Sohail in Saltley, Birmingham, last February, after wrongly thinking he had been involved in a row with him earlier the same night.

The 37-year-old was found guilty of murder following a trial at Coventry Crown Court.

On Monday, Boyaram was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 31 years.

The 25-year-old victim, known as Sohail, was found fatally injured in a car on Wright Road on 19 February 2022.

Boyaram had been filling up his car at a petrol station on Washwood Heath Road when a row broke out with a group of men who were in a silver VW, West Midlands Police said.

The group left, but Boyaram drove around trying to find them, before he spotted Sohail who had been driving a similar silver VW.

After following him home, Boyaram pulled up alongside his car, wound down his window and fatally shot him before driving off.

Boyaram's car was later captured on CCTV and he was arrested on 28 February at his home in Birbeck House, Chelmsley Wood.

Jervais Boyaram, 37, was found guilty of murder at Coventry Crown Court on Thursday

Det Ch Insp Nick Barnes said Sohail had been out helping a motorist whose vehicle had broken down.

"This was an horrendous case of mistaken identity," he said.

Following the case, Sohail's father said: "My son Muhammed Sohail was purely innocent in this matter and had his life taken so needlessly and without any reason.

"He will be missed by all of us for evermore."