Accused baby-killer struck his mother's face with iron, jury hears

Kadees Mohammed was restrained by neighbours outside his home on Dovey Road, Birmingham

The mother of a man accused of murdering his baby son has told a jury how he attacked her with an iron as she tried to protect the three-week-old.

Mohammed Ibrahim died in October 2022 at his home in Birmingham.

Raqya Bi told Birmingham Crown Court her son Kadees Mohammed struck her across her forehead with the appliance leaving her bleeding.

The 30-year-old defendant, appearing via video-link from the Tamarind Centre psychiatric hospital, denies murder.

He has also pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and two charges of wounding with intent.

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On Thursday, the jury heard a police interview with Ms Bi, recorded the day after the incident.

Speaking in Mirpuri, her words translated by an interpreter, Ms Bi said that as she lay in bed at 03:00 GMT, she heard screams and her son loudly reciting verses from the Quran in the bedroom he shared with his wife Mehwish Mubashir.

Ms Mubashir said she and her son's wife had attempted to protect the three-week-old

"When I opened the door, he had the baby [in his arms] and his wife was saying "give the baby to me,"' she said.

Ms Mubashir was screaming and pulling at her husband's arm, the defendant's mother told the jury.

She added: "Kadees fell face first on the floor. I took the baby and put him on one side.

"The baby's eyes and mouth were closed and he wasn't breathing."

Ms Bi said her son again picked up the baby and with his other hand reached for an iron and struck her on the forehead, drawing blood.

She added he also used it to hit his wife on the head.

The defence is expected to focus on Mr Mohammed's mental state in the run-up to the baby's death

Ms Bi said her son later ran into the street where neighbours grabbed him and took the baby from him. She said her son had been chanting about Allah.

The court heard previously that the defendant, who worked for the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, had become "fixated" with the idea that he had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

In her evidence, Ms Bi said he had paid to arrange a private consultation with a psychiatrist.

The prosecution alleges Mr Mohammed had downloaded a gay dating app on his phone in the days before the attack and that he was "overwhelmed by intrusive thoughts" about his sexuality.

The court heard his counsel intended to rely on a defence of insanity and would focus on his mental state during the run-up to the killing.

The trial continues.