Man accused of pushing his wife off Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh denies all allegations
Fawziyah Javed (Image by EdinburghLive)
A man who is accused of pushing his pregnant wife off Edinburgh’s popular tourist spot Arthur’s Seat showed no remorse after being told that she had died, a court heard.
29-year-old Kashif Anwar has denied all charges against him relating to murdering Fawziyah Javed, 31, in September 2021. She suffered from multiple blunt force injuries because of which she and her unborn baby died.
Anwar, who is from Leeds, has denied that he pushed her or was acting in a threatening and abusive way towards his wife at a hotel in Edinburgh a day before the murder.
According to EdinburghLive, Police Constable Sean Henderson informed the High Court on Monday that the accused was taken to Gayfield Square police station after his wife’s fall and was told of her death at around 12.45am the next day.
He added, “There wasn’t much of a reaction, in my opinion, he didn’t say much to it and didn’t have any obvious physical reaction.”
Anwar responded to PC Henderson after being told about his wife’s death by saying, “I know how this looks. We had our problems as a couple, but…”
The court heard that Anwar could not complete his sentence as several officers entered the room and arrested him on suspicion of murder.
On the fourth day of the trial, PC Henderson said, “From start to near finish he was very calm and composed throughout.
“I was actually struck how calm his demeanour was throughout.”
However, Ian Duguid KC, defending Anwar, played a 999 call recording at the court where Anwar is heard shouting down to people who were at the same spot as his wife was after the fall, and asked them of her condition, to be able to relay the message on to the ambulance service.
PC Henderson retaliated the claims by saying that during the call there were moments where he was calm and other moments where his reaction was very animated.
Detective Constable Steven Cavallero also gave evidence to the jury during the trial. He mentioned that when Anwar was being held at St Leonard’s Police Station, he asked what the duration of his imprisonment will be and if he would be able to get a bail. “How many years do you think I will get. Double figures? Maybe 15 to 20 years you reckon? That’s a long time,” Anwar enquired.
Duguid then showed a selfie the couple had taken on the day of the alleged murder and asked DC Cavallero, “You basically came to your own conclusion about it without bothering to listen to his explanation.”
Firefighter Sean Stratford was one of the emergency responders sent to the scene just after 9pm. He said that the rescue crew could not find the woman reported to have fallen off the hill, but a man came rushing to point to where she was.
He could not, however, confirm whether the man was Javed’s husband or not.
Stratford told the court: “He said that he stood up to take a selfie, he slipped and bumped her and she had fallen.”
The trial, under Lord Beckett, is ongoing, EdinburghLive reports.
