Pregnant new bride dies after being set on fire in garden
By Chris Brooke
Last updated at 1:06 PM on 16th October 2010
A pregnant woman has died after being found on fire in her garden.
Neighbours said the 23-year-old woman – named locally as Asiyah Khan – arrived in the country earlier this year and had an arranged marriage.
She was rarely seen outside the house, which she shared with her husband Naveed, mother-in-law and two sisters-in-law.
Scene: Police conduct their investigation in the street behind which the woman was found
Police were investigating the incident yesterday and it was not clear whether Mrs Khan had set herself on fire or had been set alight by someone else. No one has been arrested in connection with her death.
Emergency services were called to the residential street in Bradford at 7.15pm on Thursday, but Mrs Khan was pronounced dead at the scene.
Neighbour Debbie Gregoire said the family returned home from a shopping trip to find the house locked. Naveed Khan climbed over the gate to find his wife’s body in the back garden.
The housewife said: “Nav came round to get me saying “help me, help me”.
‘I didn’t know what to expect when I got round there, I thought she might have fallen over or the baby was coming early. I thought I’d have to be a midwife.
‘When I got into the garden, I just didn’t know what to do with him – he was hysterical, the sisters were hysterical and the mother was too.
‘There were no flames, the body was just black and you could see bits of her clothes around.
‘I feel sick when I think about it, I can’t get the image out of my head.’ Mrs Gregoire, 40, added: ‘Asiyah was beautiful, she was quite slight, you could just see the baby bump a bit.
Forensic experts hunt for clues
She was quiet and didn’t speak English but she would talk to her sisters and smile. You only ever saw her in the back garden but she seemed happy and would say “hello”.’
Neighbour Rahana Kosar said Mrs Khan ‘never came out of the house’, while another resident, Nasreen Khan, said: ‘She wasn’t allowed out of the house, her family were quite strict.
‘She lived with her husband’s family who brought her over from Pakistan eight or nine months ago.’
West Yorkshire Police said: ‘Police were called by the Fire Service shortly after 7.15pm to reports of a 23-year-old woman with serious burns on Cloudsdale Avenue, Bradford.
‘The woman was pronounced dead at the scene and inquiries are ongoing.’
Police are treating the death as suspicious and were canvassing for witnesses in the quiet cul-de-sac.
Another neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said: 'To be honest, nobody heard any screams or anything. It's very strange.'
By Chris Brooke
Last updated at 1:06 PM on 16th October 2010
A pregnant woman has died after being found on fire in her garden.
Neighbours said the 23-year-old woman – named locally as Asiyah Khan – arrived in the country earlier this year and had an arranged marriage.
She was rarely seen outside the house, which she shared with her husband Naveed, mother-in-law and two sisters-in-law.
Scene: Police conduct their investigation in the street behind which the woman was found
Police were investigating the incident yesterday and it was not clear whether Mrs Khan had set herself on fire or had been set alight by someone else. No one has been arrested in connection with her death.
Emergency services were called to the residential street in Bradford at 7.15pm on Thursday, but Mrs Khan was pronounced dead at the scene.
Neighbour Debbie Gregoire said the family returned home from a shopping trip to find the house locked. Naveed Khan climbed over the gate to find his wife’s body in the back garden.
The housewife said: “Nav came round to get me saying “help me, help me”.
‘I didn’t know what to expect when I got round there, I thought she might have fallen over or the baby was coming early. I thought I’d have to be a midwife.
‘When I got into the garden, I just didn’t know what to do with him – he was hysterical, the sisters were hysterical and the mother was too.
‘There were no flames, the body was just black and you could see bits of her clothes around.
‘I feel sick when I think about it, I can’t get the image out of my head.’ Mrs Gregoire, 40, added: ‘Asiyah was beautiful, she was quite slight, you could just see the baby bump a bit.
Forensic experts hunt for clues
She was quiet and didn’t speak English but she would talk to her sisters and smile. You only ever saw her in the back garden but she seemed happy and would say “hello”.’
Neighbour Rahana Kosar said Mrs Khan ‘never came out of the house’, while another resident, Nasreen Khan, said: ‘She wasn’t allowed out of the house, her family were quite strict.
‘She lived with her husband’s family who brought her over from Pakistan eight or nine months ago.’
West Yorkshire Police said: ‘Police were called by the Fire Service shortly after 7.15pm to reports of a 23-year-old woman with serious burns on Cloudsdale Avenue, Bradford.
‘The woman was pronounced dead at the scene and inquiries are ongoing.’
Police are treating the death as suspicious and were canvassing for witnesses in the quiet cul-de-sac.
Another neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said: 'To be honest, nobody heard any screams or anything. It's very strange.'
