THE MOTHER of a man accused of murdering his partner at his home said her son should have died and not her, a court has heard.

Atual Mustafa is on trial charged with the murder of former Bradford woman Sohbia Khan, 37, at their home in Pear Tree Crescent, Normanton, Derby. He denies the charge.

At Derby Crown Court, Mustafa’s mother, Faqraz Bi, took to the stand to give evidence in the trial.

A series of witness statements she had given to the police in the investigation were read out in court. She told the court she stood by the statements which were read out by prosecutor Michael Auty QC.

In one, she said her son drove her to his house, where Miss Khan was in the bath upstairs.

“At approximately 8pm on Saturday, 27th May, I was at my home address when my son, Atual, knocked on the door,” one statement read.

Her statement said that due to problems in the past, she had been advised not to open the door to him, but despite telling him she could not go out, he begged her and she got into his car.

Her statement said: “He put me in his black car and drove it to his address. I knew the house to be Atual’s. When we got to his address he opened the car door for me. He then opened his (house) door. Once inside the house, he told me to go upstairs.

“I walked upstairs, not knowing what I was walking in to.”

Ms Bi’s statement said she saw Miss Khan in the bath. “I went straight into shock. I placed my hand on her forehead and said Sohbia, ‘What are you doing taking a bath’?”.

The statement said Ms Bi told her son: “You have killed her.” But, she said, Atual repeatedly said: “I did not kill her, she’s only unconscious”.

She told police officers: “I was stunned. I was terrified.”

The jury was told Ms Bi hoped her son “would not kill me”. The court was told she said: “I was so terrified.” She told her son she did not want to see his face, the jury heard.

The statement added: “I said to him why did you do this? But he would not reply back.”

At this point, she said she asked another family member to call the police. She added: “I am so upset. Atual should have died, not Sohbia.”

She also told detectives that the last time she saw Miss Khan alive was the “Friday before the incident”.

The jury was told about another statement she gave to police. It read: “Atual said I would wake her up. My instant reaction was Atual had killed her. My body started shaking. I thought it strange Atual called me. Why did he not call an ambulance. I hoped he would not kill me.”

The trial has previously heard that Mustafa “lured” his partner to Derby from Bradford and subjected her to domestic violence “on a savage scale”.

Opening the case, Prosecutor Michael Auty QC described by Mr Auty as “controlling”. Mr Auty said: “The day after Sohbia left Bradford for Derby, all her Facebook, WhatsApp and Snapchat (accounts) were deactivated.”

The trial continues.