Man who k!lled his wife in front of their baby said he had thought about k!lling himself or her before the attack

A man who st@bbed his wife to death in front of their baby son after tracking her to a refuge had previously told doctors that he had contemplated killing himself or her, a trial has heard.

Kulsuma Akter, 27, was killed by her husband, Habibur Masum, 26, after he confronted her in the street while she was pushing their seven-month-old son in a pram on April 6 last year.

Masum had tracked Ms. Akter to a refuge in Bradford, where she had been staying since January 2024. She had moved there after Masum allegedly held a knife to her throat during an assault at their home in Oldham in November 2023.

Giving evidence at Bradford Crown Court on Tuesday, Masum stated that the couple met and married in Bangladesh and came to the UK in 2022 after he obtained a student visa to study for a Master’s degree in Marketing.

Masum, who spoke through a Bengali interpreter, described their relationship as having “occasional disagreements or arguments” regarding their living situation, noting that she would sometimes “block him” when she was angry.

He said in court, “I used to feel if I couldn’t be with her, I would die.”

Jurors heard that in August 2022, the police found Masum at a tram station, where he had stayed overnight after an argument with Ms. Akter. He was taken to the hospital, where he told a doctor, “I feel like I would kill her,” and that during fights, he felt he might harm her.

Medical records indicated that he had disclosed thoughts of harming both himself and Ms. Akter and admitted to carrying a knife while experiencing these thoughts. Masum stated in court that he had never carried a knife in Ms. Akter’s presence.

When asked by his barrister, Frida Hussain KC, why he made those comments at the hospital, he responded, “I said: ‘I feel I’m having some mental health issues and I would like to share something with the doctor.’ I just wanted to share all that with the doctor.”

The court heard that he was advised to register with a GP and seek support from his university.

Masum described feeling “depressed” but admitted that he never sought help from a GP. The court also heard that he and Ms. Akter moved in together in September 2022, though they continued to have arguments.

He explained that in July 2023, one of Kulsuma’s brothers came to the UK, and he had objected to him staying with them, citing “privacy and space issues.” On July 5, following another argument, Ms. Akter left to stay with family members, who contacted the police, reporting that Masum was threatening to kill himself if she did not return.

When asked if he was looking for a knife to harm himself, Masum replied, “Yes.” However, he later denied having thoughts of self-harm when the police arrived.

Jurors learned that Ms. Akter returned, and their child was born in September. Masum stated that after the alleged assault in November, he became very depressed.

He said, “I used to think a lot about my son. I was separated from my son, and I missed him a lot. I also thought about my wife. I wondered why she had separated me from my son when I hadn’t done anything to her.”

Masum expressed that he was unable to focus on work or take care of himself and was having suicidal thoughts, stating, “I thought if I ended my life, I wouldn’t struggle with this constant pain of missing them.”

He denies murdering Ms. Akter but has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and possession of a knife. He also denies two charges of assault, a count of making threats to kill, and one charge of stalking.

The trial continues.