A man who repeatedly beat his wife with a stick and smothered her with a pillow when he learned she no longer wanted to be with him has been found not guilty of attempted murder.

A jury at Teesside Crown Court returned the verdict on Friday afternoon against Altaf Mahmood but he was found him guilty found him guilty of wounding with intent in relation to the incident in June last year.

The court heard the 60-year-old travelled to Yasmin Shahid’s home in North Ormesby, Middlesbrough, from Coventry to carry out the brutal attack.

The ordeal is believed to have started at around 2:30am when Ms Shahid saw a man dressed “head to toe” in black in her bedroom doorway.

Ms Shahid suffered several blows to her head as her husband beat her with a stick and smothered her with a pillow to silence her screaming before leaving her bleeding on the floor.

Ms Shahid said she only realised it was her husband when she managed to pull down the face mask he was wearing as a disguise.

The Northern Echo: Maria Street, North Ormesby, where the attack took place. Picture: GoogleMaria Street, North Ormesby, where the attack took place. Picture: Google

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Over a five-day trial, the jury heard that Mahmood then left Ms Shahid on the floor of her home without a phone and praying to god that she would survive. She was left to helplessly walk the quiet streets in the middle of the night to seek help.

Pictures of Ms Shahid’s injuries shown in court revealed she had several cuts and bruises to her face, a swollen right eye and approximately a three-inch-deep cut exposing her skull.

The prosecution said Mahmood’s alleged motivation to murder his spouse was because she had left him and that he had “carefully and meticulously” planned every step of the vicious attack.

It included driving to Teesside without a mobile phone, parking seven miles away in Stockton, not phoning an ambulance in the aftermath of the attack, and then driving back to Coventry.

The prosecution argued his only attempt to provide help for Ms Shahid was by leaving a voicemail to his son-in-law Arsal, telling him to call an ambulance.

But Mahmood, of Lythalls Lane, insisted he had travelled to her home to try and scare her and was worried she would face difficulties if she lived alone in Middlesbrough.

Police found a suitcase packed with clothes and a business card for a lawyer in Lahore, Pakistan, when they searched his car after his arrest in Coventry, just hours after the attack.

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But defending, Peter Rowlands, said Mahmood now accepts he went “too far” with his actions but denied attempted murder. He said Mahmood’s actions to provide his injured wife with ibuprofen and a wet towel for her injuries proved he still cared for her wellbeing.

“What he did afterwards makes the claim he tried to murder his wife utterly ridiculous,” said Mr Rowlands.

“He fetches her a drink of water and an ibuprofen tablet. Are these the actions of somebody who’s in the throw of killing his wife?

“If he’s trying to kill her, why is he doing all this?”

After the jury returned their verdict, Ms Shahid was commended for her bravery by police officers in speaking out about the attack. 

Detective Constable Genyfer Smith, from Cleveland Police, said: “This has been a horrific experience for the victim and I’d like to commend her on her bravery in coming forward and throughout the whole investigative and judicial process.

“Altaf Mahmood travelled 170 miles on the night that he attacked his victim, carrying a weapon in his vehicle and parking it in Stockton in an attempt to try to evade police.

“His controlling behaviour has been plain to see throughout this process and I’m pleased that he will now remain behind bars and cannot cause further harm to anyone. I hope that the victim can take some comfort from this and now move forward with her life.”

Mahmood was remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced in October.

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