Uber Driver Found Guilty Of Murdering His Children And Trying To Kill His Wife

He was badly burned on the night of the killings.

WARNING: This report contains images of burns injuries some readers may find distressing. Discretion is advised.

A father who killed his two young children with a petrol-soaked cloth and then tried to kill his wife in a gas explosion has been found guilty of murder.

Jurors heard Uber driver Endris Mohammed attempted to murder his wife, Penil Teklehaimanot, by tampering with a gas pipe and setting fire to the family home in Hamstead, Birmingham.

Mohammed had denied the murders of eight-year-old Saros Endris and his sister Leanor, six, claiming diminished responsibility allegedly caused by a depressive disorder.

Saros Endris, eight, and his sister Leanor, six were murdered by their father
Saros Endris, eight, and his sister Leanor, six were murdered by their father
SWNS

A two-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court was told Mohammed - who was found guilty of two counts of murder and one of attempted murder - appeared normal in the run-up to the deaths.

Mohammed, who will be sentenced on Monday, pursed his lips but showed no other sign of emotion as he was found guilty just 30 minutes after the jury retired.

Mohammed, who suffered burns to his head after setting the passenger side of his cab alight on the night of the killings, admitted smothering his children.

Mohammed denied the murders, claiming diminished responsibility allegedly caused by depressive disorder
Mohammed denied the murders, claiming diminished responsibility allegedly caused by depressive disorder
SWNS

He did not give evidence during his defence case but argued through his legal team that he was depressed about his future amid money worries.

The 47-year-old fled in his cab after killing Saros and Leanor at their home in Holland Road in the early hours of 28 October last year, having bought a fuel can and three litres of petrol the previous day.

Mohammed met his wife in 2006 in Kent, after they came to Britain from East Africa as asylum seekers.

Mohammed suffered burns to his head after setting the passenger side of his cab alight on the night of the killings
Mohammed suffered burns to his head after setting the passenger side of his cab alight on the night of the killings
SWNS

Giving evidence during the trial, Mrs Teklehaimanot said Mohammed was “a gentle, quiet man” who had not seemed angry or irritable in the months before her children were killed.

Mrs Teklehaimanot was sleeping upstairs when Mohammed smothered Saros and Leanor during a half-term “sleepover” in the lounge.

In her evidence to the jury, Mrs Teklehaimanot, who was woken by a smoke alarm, told how she initially thought her children were asleep when she was unable to wake them.

The court heard Mohammed claimed he had decided to end his own life because his “hopes for a good life in England” had failed, but police inquiries showed the family could live off his wife’s earnings as a care worker.

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