Overview
- Prosecutors say Mohammed Azim deliberately drove his Mercedes Sprinter at 19-year-old Lily Whitehouse, crushing her against a lamppost after collecting her from a hospital visit on November 5 last year.
- After the impact Azim put Ms Whitehouse in his truck, phoned 999 to claim a hit-and-run, then moved her to Park Street which delayed investigators and risked loss of forensic evidence.
- CCTV with audio from a nearby school, the 999 call, police body-worn camera footage and a Home Office pathologist’s post-mortem were used together to rebut the defendant’s account and show the attack was not accidental.
- A jury convicted Azim of murder after a two-week trial and on Monday 22 June 2026 a judge sentenced him to life with a minimum term of 20 years, saying the act carried a substantial risk of death.
- The case drew attention to the victim’s vulnerability — she had given birth five weeks earlier and her baby was in neonatal care — and the CPS said the verdict underlines its focus on prosecuting violence against women and girls.