A 27-year-old man has admitted to manslaughter after suffocating a woman he was obsessed with, following an intense campaign of emotional manipulation and rejection. Muhammad Arslan, a delivery driver from Ilford, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility after initially denying murder at the Old Bailey.
Arslan is accused of killing 21-year-old Hina Bashir, who he had known from their shared village in Pakistan. After following her to the UK, Arslan became fixated on Hina, who had moved to the UK to study business management in 2021. Despite her clear desire to move on and form a relationship with another man, Arslan’s obsession with her escalated.
On 11 July 2022, Hina visited Arslan’s house to collect belongings she had left there when moving accommodation. She entered the house but never left alive. The following morning, Arslan was seen dragging a suitcase and later left it on an industrial estate near the M25. The suitcase was later discovered containing Hina’s lifeless body, tightly squeezed inside.
A pathologist determined that Hina’s cause of death was asphyxia, after a facemask was stuffed into her mouth, blocking her airway. Police later found facemasks matching the one used to suffocate Hina in Arslan’s house. Blood evidence and telephone records further implicated Arslan, with evidence showing he had been in possession of Hina’s phone in the hours following her disappearance.
Though Arslan initially denied any romantic connection with Hina, police discovered numerous messages on his phone, revealing his obsessive and possessive feelings towards her. He had sent numerous messages about his intense love for Hina and expressed disbelief and shock upon learning she had formed a relationship with another man. Arslan’s phone also contained multiple photos and collages of Hina with love hearts drawn on them, further demonstrating his unhealthy fixation.
In his statement, Arslan claimed he had not intended to kill Hina but conceded he had caused her death. The prosecution argues, however, that the actions Arslan took, including stuffing the facemask into her mouth and preventing her from breathing, clearly demonstrated an intent to kill.
The trial continues as the court considers whether Arslan’s actions reflect the intent to commit murder or if his diminished responsibility will be accepted.
