by An 11-year-old girl who dreamed of becoming a lawyer died after being hit in the head by her older brother in a fit of rage – and the family then tried to cover it up, a coroner has ruled.
Falaq Babar was described as ‘the princess of her people’. She was bathing another of her siblings in the bathroom of the family home on Bury Road in Rochdale in February, 2022.
Her brother, 23-year-old Suhail Mohammed, then ‘punched the youngster unprovokedly’. Just 21 minutes after calling an ambulance, he sent text messages to his girlfriend saying he had ‘killed’ his little sister.
In the message, he wrote that he had been ‘punched on the head’. Falaq died in hospital a month later.
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In the texts, Mr Mohammed said she was ‘screaming her head off’ and ‘it was in the heat of the moment’. Senior coroner Joanne Kearsley said she found ‘as a matter of fact’ that Falaq had been subjected to an ‘unprovoked, indefensible punch’, but because of the evidence heard at the inquest, she would not be reporting the case back to Greater Greater London Manchester. Police or Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Ms Kearsley discovered that Falaq had an ‘unknown underlying malformation of the brain’, which was described as extremely rare.
Giving evidence, Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Round said he felt there was ‘sufficient evidence’ to consult with the Crown Prosecution Service about Falaq’s death, referring to a possible charge of manslaughter. But, he said, the CPS ruled there was ‘no case’, a case he said related to the ‘complexities’ of the medical evidence.
The coroner said in his ruling on Friday: “Tragically, although the punch was not intended to cause harm, it is likely that this punch caused Falaq to become ill immediately and struggle to walk.
“I am satisfied, on the whole, that she would have been concerned as a result, that she was complaining of pain, stating that she felt like she was dying and that she had to get help downstairs. of the rupture related to her underlying unknown malformation in her brain.
“I therefore find on the balance of probabilities that Falaq was unlawfully killed.”
Mr Mohammed was arrested after the death, and an investigation into a ‘suspected assault’ was launched, but the inquest heard that the SPC ruled that no further action would be taken after a file of evidence was presented to them.
The inquest heard he was interviewed again by Greater Manchester Police when the text messages were discovered, but they refused to answer any questions.
Mr Mohammed, the court heard, told police he used ‘a bit of force’ on the door to open it and described ‘barging’ with his ‘shoulder and elbow’ before Falaq was found ‘on the floor’ ‘ next to the radiator.
He said he was pushing on the door from the outside, while Falaq was pulling it from the inside, after hearing a younger brother ‘bickering’ trying to get in. Falaq was inside swimming on one of the siblings at the time.
Mr Kearsley said ‘at no stage’ paramedics at the scene were told Falaq may have been stabbed.
The inquest heard that Falaq’s parents did not give permission for Greater Manchester police to interview the other children present. Mr Mohammed’s girlfriend also refused to cooperate with the police.
The coroner said it was ‘difficult to understand’ why the family were so reluctant to at least investigate with GMP about the possibility of speaking to the younger siblings’.
She said that she decided that the evidence given ‘by all the family members’ was an attempt to hide or suppress it because her brother had punished her.
Mr Kearsley said: “The evidence from all the family members was implausible, inconsistent and inherently inconclusive. I am satisfied that the accounts given were exculpatory in nature and false. They were made in an attempt to conceal or cover up the fact that Falaq’s older sibling beat her in a pique outfit.”
She said it was ‘likely’ Falaq and the sibling who wanted to go into the bathroom were joking and Mr Mohammed became ‘frustrated’ with the noise. He ‘slammed’ the door with ‘significant force’ and gave Falaq no warning.
Ms Kearsley said in her decision: “I get it [Mr Mohammed] acted in the heat of the moment and there was probably some frustration.
“When the shoulder of the door is cut, I find on the balance of probabilities that he has hit Falaq on the head. This is completely consistent with the contemporary evidence, especially with the text messages that Suhail sent to his girlfriend and the comments he made about him hitting Falaq It is not possible to determine from the evidence whether Falaq also hits her head on the door or the wall.
“I have to say that there is no evidence before the court that the act of Falaq’s older brother or sister was done in any way with any intent to kill her or cause serious bodily harm. This is not murder.”
She said she felt Mr Mohammed acted ‘probably out of frustration and irritation at the noise’.
“This was an unlawful act and amounted to an unreasonable and excessive use of force,” Ms Kearsley added.
The inquest into Falaq’s death was halted last year when new potential evidence came to light.
Ms Kearsley said it ‘came to light’ that members of the family – namely Mr Mohammed and Falaq’s grandmother, Zabida Bibi – could be heard on the 999 call ‘talking amongst themselves’. The recording was improved and specialist translators were introduced.
The coroner said Mrs Bibi was heard saying ‘hit with a punch/assault?’ or ‘who hit her?’
Mr Mohammed was also heard saying ‘we pray to God and we do not do much as it is early in the morning’ or ‘not to announce (we do not reveal) in the morning’, she said to her ruling.
Dr Daniel Du Plessis, a consultant neuropathologist, told the reopening inquest that it was a ‘complex case’ and that Falaq had suffered bleeding inside her brain.
Surgeons were operating, he said, but ‘major damage’ had already been done. He said the subsequent bleeding in a ‘small but vital’ blood vessel suffered by Falaq was ‘very rare’ and ‘very rare’.
He presented three possible scenarios: traumatic rupture of a healthy blood vessel; trauma caused a weak blood vessel to rupture – weakening caused by an underlying issue – and due to increased blood pressure it ruptured.
“I can’t separate those out,” he said, adding that a pre-existing natural lesion ‘precedes’ other causes.
Ms Kearsely said: “Overall, Falaq probably had a previously unknown abnormality, which is an arterial vein malformation of the inferior posterior cerebellar artery. This is a very rare condition. .
“As a result of the trauma to Falaq she probably had anxiety and increased blood pressure and the direct result was the rupture of the blood vessel that brings the blood inside her brain.”
