Man jailed for life for murdering David Read in Blackburn

A man has been jailed for life for murdering David Read in Blackburn.

Mohammed Ali Khan was given a minimum term of 22 years.

Police were called to a flat in Leamington Road at 11.38am on the 7th of June 2023 to reports of a sudden death.

Emergency services attended and sadly found the body of 50-year-old David.

A post-mortem examination showed David died of multiple injuries.

Enquiries by the Force Major Investigation Team (FMIT) discovered that overnight on June 6th and 7th defendant Khan had carried out a prolonged and extensive assault on David, using a hammer and scissors.

CCTV enquiries showed 35-year-old Khan – a convicted drug dealer – arriving at David’s flat on the afternoon of 6th of June. CCTV showed Khan leaving later in the evening and going home to change his clothing. He then bought food from a takeaway further along Preston New Road before returning to David’s flat shortly after midnight on the 7th of June.

At around 2am, one of Davd’s neighbours heard a loud bang and a raised voice – now known to be that of Khan. This was repeated an hour later and then at around 5am in the morning Khan was heard to say: “I’m sorry, I’m sorry David.”

Khan was captured leaving Davd’s flat at 9am, carrying bags and having changed his clothes.

By tracking Khans movements on CCTV, officers were led to various locations where Khan had discarded and secreted items in an effort to cover his tracks and dispose of evidence. In one location nearby in a wooded area, our officers found clothing belonging to Khan that appeared to have been washed and footwear belonging to David Read.

In another location in a nearby alleyway parts of a broken mobile phone were found – which was later confirmed as belonging to David – and a bloodied claw hammer was found hanging from the branch of a tree.

Khan’s DNA was found on a pair of scissors found in David’s flat and upon the hammer when it was recovered and examined.

When David’s mobile phone was examined, it was discovered that Khan’s details had been deleted from the contacts list. In the period between 3.42am and 4.51am on the 7th of June, calls had been made to individuals associated with Khan.

Neither Khan’s phone or David’s phone were used to call the emergency services.

On the 9th of June, Khan, of an address on Preston New Road, was arrested on suspicion of David’s murder.

While at the police station, Khan said to a police officer: “Miss, can I tell you the truth?”

During his police interview he went onto answer ‘no comment’ to the majority of questions put to him.

Following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, Khan was charged with murder.

He was unanimously found guilty by a jury after 45 minutes of deliberations following a week-long trial at Preston Crown Court.

Det Supt Mark Haworth-Oates, of Lancashire Police, said: “This was a truly shocking murder committed against a vulnerable man in his own home.

“The level of violence used and the injuries sustained by David were some of the worst I have seen in my career. He had over 100 different injuries all over his body.

“Having made no effort to seek help for David, who he left dead or dying on the floor of his flat, Khan prioritised disposing of evidence and covering his tracks.

“With the overwhelming support of the community, the officers and staff who worked on this case managed to piece together the evidence that left no doubt in the jury’s mind that Khan was responsible for David’s murder.

“While today’s focus will understandably be on Khan, my thoughts remain with David’s loved ones on what is no doubt a day filled with a mixture of emotions. I feel for them that they have had to hear the evidence during the course of the trial but hope that in time the outcome of today will bring them some sense of closure.”

In a new tribute, David’s family said: “David had a gentle nature and was known to those close to him as the gentle giant. Life will never be the same without David and he will be missed by everyone who knew him.”