Deaf woman, 27, ‘kicked out of car and left to die on East London street’, court hears
Rather than helping her, the defendant allegedly shouted at the others to get back in the car which was then driven away
Zahwa Salah Mukhtar has been described as being ‘very humble, mature and so sweet’ by friends who deeply miss her(Image: MPS)
A profoundly deaf young woman was punched in the neck by a raver nicknamed Nasty and then left to die in the street, a court has heard. Zahwa Mukhtar, 27, was thrown out of a car in Chadwell Heath in Romford and fatally attacked by Duane Owusu on a quiet street in east London in the early hours of Saturday August 16 last year, the Old Bailey was told.
Ms Mukhtar, who came from a traditional family background, wanted to live like any other young person in their 20s and enjoyed socialising, food and travel, they heard.
On the evening before the fatal incident, Owusu, 36, had gone to a rave, travelling in a silver Mercedes with a group of people he knew from Dagenham, jurors were told. Ms Mukhtar had been out by herself and come across the group “by chance” outside a pub in Stoke Newington, north London, near her home, jurors heard.
The victim, who was said to have been running up and down the road, was given some laughing gas that the group had already consumed, the court was told.
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When the defendant and his group left, she joined them in the Mercedes, the court was told. With seven people in the car, Ms Mukhtar sat on the defendant’s lap on the journey back towards Dagenham, Ms Paget said.
She told jurors: “The occupants of the vehicle had been drinking and taking drugs, Ms Mukhtar included. You will hear evidence that she was behaving erratically within the car, flirting with the boys and picking fights with the girls. Nobody knew her, and it appears that her behaviour was causing increasing annoyance.”
When Ms Mukhtar began recording a video on her phone and the defendant ordered the driver to stop the car, the court heard. Ms Paget said: “Opening the rear door, he threw out Ms Mukhtar’s phone and then ejected her body from the car, so that she landed on her backside on the pavement.
“Getting out after her, he aimed two kicks at her face as she sat on the ground. One of the female members of the group got out to try to stop the attack but he swung her aside.
“Ms Mukhtar by this stage had managed to get to her feet and was pleading with Mr Owusu to stop, but he punched her, hard, to the neck, knocking her to the ground where she lay motionless.”
Jurors were told that Ms Mukhtar fell so hard that she suffered a fractured skull and fatal brain injury. Rather than helping her, the defendant allegedly shouted at the others to get back in the car which was then driven away.
Ms Paget told the jury: “And so it was that Ms Mukhtar was left to die.”
Jurors were shown CCTV footage of the attack outside a care home in Chadwell Heath, east London. Owusu, from Dagenham, has pleaded not guilty to murder and the alternative charge of manslaughter.
After the fatal attack on Ms Mukhtar, a voice can be heard on the footage shouting: “Get in the car now.” A minute after departing, leaving Ms Mukhtar motionless on the pavement, the CCTV shows the vehicle return and pull up in front of her.
A male voice was allegedly heard to say: “Leave her bro. I don’t even care about her, let’s just go.” Afemale voice is then allegedly heard shouting: “Someone help her. We can’t leave her like that.”
After a few seconds, the car drove off again at 4.36am, only to be stopped by police soon after, only a very short distance away, jurors were told.
Officers allegedly found nitrous oxide cannisters in the boot, a small amount of cannabis in Owusu’s pocket and a small bag of white powder in a man bag in the footwell.
The group was detained for almost 50 minutes but officers decided not to make any arrests and they were sent on their way on foot as the car was overloaded.
Meanwhile, two passers-by had alerted the officers to a woman lying on the pavement further up the road and police went to investigate after dealing with the Mercedes stop, jurors were told.
Ms Mukhtar was found unresponsive at 5.31am and despite efforts of police and paramedics at the scene, she was pronounced dead at 6.21am.
Ms Paget told jurors: “This was a callous attack. The attitude Mr Owusu displayed towards his victim was one of utter contempt, as his subsequent actions and words make clear.”
As the defendant and the Mercedes driver waited for a taxi, their conversation was caught on neighbourhood security systems, the court was told.
Owusu allegedly berated the driver for making a U-turn and wanting to return to help Ms Mukhtar, calling him “soft” and a “weak link”. In turn, the driver told Owusu he could not control his emotions – a comment Ms Paget said went to “the heart of this case”.
The defendant was identified on the CCTV footage by his distinctive silver gilet and arrested the next day, jurors were told.
Owusu, from Dagenham, has pleaded not guilty to murder and the alternative charge of manslaughter.
The Old Bailey trial continues.
Tributes to ‘humble and sweet woman’
The deaf community in East London paid tribute to <s Mukhtar at the time of her death – descrbing her as a ‘humble and sweet’ woman Friends said the 27-year-old, who was deaf, was ‘deeply involved’ in East London’s deaf community. She regularly attended the Hackney Deaf Club to support the group.
Club organiser Tahene Howell said the community is ‘heartbroken’ by Zahwa’s death. Tahene told MyLondon: “She touched a lot of people as many have messaged me saying they remember her and how they met only once but how lovely she was.
“She was someone you could not forget. She left that great impression on you. She always had good energy, and was smiling. I am so devastated. I can’t believe it.”
Tahene said Zahwa did so much volunteer work and had a ‘natural skill’ for socialising with people. She added: “Everyone said she was a ray of sunshine and how much she lit the room up.
“She had confidence that others could only dream of having. She was very humble, mature and so sweet. She was constantly complimenting and uplifting others.”
Lucy Deeble, who is known as the artist Signmusic who is a BSL interpreter, said Zahwa was always spreading kindness wherever she went. She told MyLondon: “She often attended the Hackney Deaf Club and was such an unforgettable presence.
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