16 February 2024 , 15:17
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A dad who took out his bad temper on his two-year-old adopted daughter after she squabbled with a sibling over a trip to Tesco to get ice cream, murdered her by bashing her head against a wall.
Little Zahra Ghulami's died of significant head injuries and the court heard she had suffered a skull fracture caused by “significant impact with significant energy” at the hands of her father Jan Gholami who adopted her along with his wife Roqia Ghulami after her own mother died in childbirth. Today, Gholami was jailed for life and was told he will serve a minimum of 23 years and six months behind bars.
Gholami and wife Ghulami denied any part in her death in the girl's death at their home in Gravesend in May 2020. The little girl was taken to hospital with injuries on May 27, 2020 and she died two days later. At Maidstone Crown Court, last month jurors convicted Gholami of murder with a majority verdict of 10 to two after deliberating for nearly 20 hours.
His wife Ghulami, 32, was cleared of murder but found guilty of cruelty of a person under 16 in a unanimous verdict. Today, she was sentenced to two years in jail.
Gholami, also 32, was also found guilty unanimously of child cruelty. During the trial prosecutor Sally Howes KC asked the dad: “You bashed her head against the wall, didn’t you? This caused bleeding under the brain lining, tearing of the brain itself and bleeding around the nerves that go from the eyes to the brain.”
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Jan Gholami in Tesco (CPS)But the father-of-four told jurors he went out to Tesco that morning and when he got home his son said Zahra had fallen down the stairs and was vomiting. The former farmer, originally from Afghanistan, also denied allegations of older injuries before her death including that he banged her head against the wall and fractured her skull on an earlier occasion.
Ms Howes said: “Because this is what you do. You bang people’s heads against walls. Because you’ve done this before and Zahra had survived, you just walked away and went to Tesco.” Gholami denied harming her or any of his children, and said when he saw Zahra, he was unsure if she was “completely unconscious” but his wife said she banged her head.
Speaking through an interpreter, he said: “I touched it [her head], I could see the swelling, I called my friend and told him to come here as quickly as possible. He also called the ambulance but it never arrived.”
He was seen on CCTV entering the supermarket the day his daughter was hurt (CPS)During the cross-examination, Gholami repeatedly denied hurting Zahra. The shop worker said: “If I would do such things I wouldn’t come to this country, there was a lot of violence in Afghanistan already. The reason I came to this country was for the welfare of my children.”
The court heard how Gholami came to the UK in January 2016, while Ghulami was still in Afghanistan with their children. The couple then adopted Zahra in 2017, after Gholami’s friend, Zahra’s father, felt unable to look after her after his wife died in childbirth. In January 2019, Gholami applied for asylum for Ghulami from the UK, and she arrived with the children to join him.
Zahra was described as a bright, intelligent child who was highly curious and wanted to find out about everything. Ms Howes suggested there was a “rivalry” between Zahra and Gholami’s “favourite son” and that when he got upset by her, Gholami “would get angry with that little girl whether it was her fault or not”.
Jan Gholami murdered little Zahra (PA)
Mum Roqia Ghulami jailed for two years (KENT POLICE)Ms Howes alleged the children had squabbled before the Tesco trip about going for ice cream and that something happened for Gholami to lose his temper with Zahra before he left. She also questioned why it took Gholami “so long” to call his friend for help, suggesting he realised the consequences of what he had done and was thinking what to do about it.
But Gholami said: “It never happened such a thing before, [this is the] first time I saw her in that state, I always look after my children.” He added: “There’s no reason for me to get angry with my children. I love them.” He also denied having a favourite child, saying that he loved them “equally”. About Zahra, he said: “My treatment of her was always good, the same as the other children, sometimes I treated her better than others.”
Senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Ross Gurden said: "Zahra would have thought she was being cared for by people who loved her. She trusted them but she was betrayed in the most brutal way. Gholami inflicted catastrophic injuries on Zahra, and his partner failed to intervene to help her.
“Zahra would have been six now, she would have started school and would be learning about the world around her, but instead her young life was cut short through violence inflicted by Jan, who should have been caring for her.
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"‘This was a long and complex trial and I would like to commend the jury who considered all the evidence before coming to their verdict. This outcome can never bring Zahra back but does ensure those responsible for her death have been brought to justice."