Mushin Ahmed murder trial: 81-year-old suffered brain damage after having head stamped on

A Muslim pensioner suffered brain damage after having his head stamped on during a fatal assault, a court heard.
Mushin AhmedMushin Ahmed
Mushin Ahmed

Mushin Ahmed, 81, died in hospital 11 days after being subjected to a sustained assault on August 10 last year as he walked to early-morning prayers at his local mosque in Rotherham.

Dale Jones, 30, of East Bawtry Road, Rotherham and Damien Hunt, 30, of Doncaster Road, Rotherham, deny murdering Mr Ahmed in an alleged racist attack.

A forensic tent on Fitzwilliam Road in Rotherham following the murder of Mushin Ahmed last summer. Pictures: Ross Parry AgencyA forensic tent on Fitzwilliam Road in Rotherham following the murder of Mushin Ahmed last summer. Pictures: Ross Parry Agency
A forensic tent on Fitzwilliam Road in Rotherham following the murder of Mushin Ahmed last summer. Pictures: Ross Parry Agency
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Forensic pathologist Dr Charles Wilson told a jury at Sheffield Crown Court that Mr Ahmed had been left with brain damage from the assault.

He said medical notes indicated he had been vomiting blood when first taken to hospital after being found lying on a grass verge by a passer-by around two hours after he was attacked.

Dr Wilson said Mr Ahmed had been ‘unable to provide an account of what had happened to him’ while in hospital in intensive care.

He said Mr Ahmed died on the morning of August 21 after contracting pneumonia, an illness which he said is ‘very common’ for patients with serious head injuries.

A forensic tent on Fitzwilliam Road in Rotherham following the murder of Mushin Ahmed last summer. Pictures: Ross Parry AgencyA forensic tent on Fitzwilliam Road in Rotherham following the murder of Mushin Ahmed last summer. Pictures: Ross Parry Agency
A forensic tent on Fitzwilliam Road in Rotherham following the murder of Mushin Ahmed last summer. Pictures: Ross Parry Agency
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Dr Wilson said: “It is my opinion Mr Ahmed died of pneumonia due to the head and facial injuries he sustained.”

He said his post-mortem examinations indicated that Mr Ahmed had his head stamped on during the course of the ‘sustained and forceful’ assault, which also left the pensioner with fractures to his eye sockets, jaw and nose and a laceration to his lip.

Dr Wilson said he could not be precise about the number of blows Mr Ahmed had sustained.

“There were at least two really heavy impacts to the right side of his face - one is definitely a stamp,” he said.

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“Then we have the patterned bruising at the front of the left ear. At the very minimum, that gives us at least three really heavy impacts. I would give as an absolute minimum three really heavy impacts to this man’s face. I strongly suspect there was significantly more but pathologically that can’t be proven.”