Sobhia Khan: Concern over hospital release of man who killed wife

Sobhia Khan was killed at home in Derby in 2017

A coroner has found "numerous failings" led to a man being able to beat his wife to death after his release from a secure psychiatric unit.

Atual Mustafa murdered Sobhia Khan in May 2017 after he was discharged from Cygnet Hospital in Derby.

An inquest at Chesterfield Coroner's Court in February 2023 heard he was able to form a secret relationship with her, marry, then murder her.

Mustafa was jailed for life with a minimum term of 32 years in May 2018.

Atual Mustafa failed to tell the authorities he had begun a relationship with Ms Khan

Derbyshire coroner Clement Goldstone KC said Mustafa was being supervised by various agencies when he killed Ms Khan at their home in Pear Tree Crescent, Derby.

The coroner published a prevention of future deaths report, on Thursday, after concluding the 37-year-old teaching assistant was unlawfully killed.

The inquest heard Mustafa was detained at Cygnet Hospital in 2009 after being given a hospital order for attacking, torturing and setting fire to another woman.

He was conditionally discharged from the secure unit in July 2015.

The coroner's report said the Ministry of Justice discharged Mustafa after it received "inadequate" hospital reports which "misrepresented the progress he had made and the risk that he posed".

It also said the case should have been referred to a mental health tribunal.

The conditions of Mustafa's release included that he notify authorities of any developing relationships but he failed to do so.

The coroner's report said he "brutally murdered" Ms Khan about five weeks after persuading her to move from Bradford to Derby.

Mr Goldstone said Mustafa's ability to form the relationship in secret and to murder Ms Khan was "surprising and concerning".

Ms Khan's inquest was held at Chesterfield Town Hall

Ms Khan was married to Mustafa in her absence in the weeks before her death, under the Islamic ceremony of Nikah.

The inquest heard Mustafa deceived Ms Khan, and her family, as he planned to move her to Derby where he could "control her completely".

Mr Goldstone said Derbyshire Police failed to investigate intelligence that Mustafa had formed a relationship after he was released, but said the force would not have had the power, under the 1983 Mental Health Act, to arrest him anyway.

The coroner said that was a "significant gap" and consideration could be given to adding a power of arrest to future discharge conditions.

The prevention of future deaths report said Mustafa had also been able to freely travel to and from Pakistan where he was outside the jurisdiction of the authorities.

The coroner also found there had been a culture of poor record keeping around Mustafa's case.

Jailed for life

During a criminal trial in 2018, Derby Crown Court heard Ms Khan suffered "domestic violence on a savage scale".

The jury was told there were 36 recent injuries across her body, including burns from an iron.

The MoJ, Derbyshire Police, Derbyshire NHS Foundation Trust, Derby City Council, Cygnet Health Care, have been ordered respond to Mr Goldstone's report by 12 April.

Each of the organisations passed on condolences to Ms Khan's loved ones and said they had been making improvements since her death in 2017.

Each said they would consider the coroner's report and respond to it.

A spokesperson for the MoJ said: "This was an appalling crime and our heartfelt thoughts remain with Sobhia's family and friends. We will carefully consider the coroner's findings and respond in due course."

Mustafa was a patient at the Cygnet Hospital in Derby

Assistant Chief Constable James Abdy, of Derbyshire Police, offered a "sincere and unreserved apology" for the force's failings.

He said: "We will now take the opportunity to further reflect on the findings of the inquest, with the commitment to continue to learn from Sobhia's tragic death.

"Following the conclusion of the inquest, the force has re-referred the case to the Independent Office for Police Conduct."

A Cygnet Health spokesperson said: "We take our responsibilities to provide safe care extremely seriously. We always seek to ensure lessons learned are identified and shared and we are committed to working in partnership with other bodies and organisations.

"Since Sobhia's death in 2017, we have worked closely with other agencies to share learnings and implement them, making the necessary improvements across our services."

Andy Smith, Derby City Council's strategic director for people services, said: "We will, of course, consider the coroner's comments and ensure any relevant learning is taken forward by the council and its partners."

A review commissioned by NHS England and published in 2021, said there was a series of "missed opportunities" to spot warning signs and potentially prevent Ms Khan's death.