Aamir Siddiqi was a boy from

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, South Wales. In April 2010, at the age of 17, Siddiqi was killed in his family's home in the

Roath Roath ( cy, Y Rhath) is a district and community to the north-east of the city centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. There is no community council for the area which is mostly covered by the Plasnewydd electoral ward, and stretches from Adamsdo ...

area of Cardiff. On 1 February 2013 Jason Richards, 38, and Ben Hope, 39, were convicted of his murder; they had intended to kill a different man. Later that month they were both sentenced to life imprisonment, and ordered to serve a minimum of 40 years.

Background

Aamir Siddiqi was born in 1993 to Iqbal Siddiqi, a retired civil servant, and his wife Parveen. In April 2010 they were living at 110 Ninian Road, Cardiff. At around the same time Jason Richards ran a car garage in Cardiff. A man with a history of drug dependence, Richards had several previous convictions for violent offences including robbery and blackmail. He led what was described as a "chaotic and violent" lifestyle and had spent periods in

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, corre ...

. In one incident in 1996, Richards attacked an off-duty police officer and another man in Cardiff city centre. Both men were badly injured with one suffering a

skull fracture A skull fracture is a break in one or more of the eight bones that form the cranial portion of the skull, usually occurring as a result of blunt force trauma. If the force of the impact is excessive, the bone may fracture at or near the site of t ...

, and Richards was sentenced to 27 months imprisonment for grievous bodily harm. In another incident, Richards was imprisoned for 18 months for

actual bodily harm Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (often abbreviated to Assault OABH, AOABH or simply ABH) is a statutory offence of aggravated assault in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Hong Kong and th ...

following an attack on his wife in 2004. Richards met Ben Hope, who also had a history of violence and drug problems, whilst incarcerated. The two developed a friendship which continued after their release. In 2010 they were approached by a local businessman who proposed they carry out the killing of a man with whom he had been in a property dispute, for £1,000.

Attack

On the afternoon of Sunday 11 April 2010, Richards and Hope went to the Siddiqis' home on Ninian Road. Both had been using drugs. Hearing the two men knock, and expecting a visit from his imam for a

Koran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...

lesson, Aamir ran to open the front door, where he was confronted by the two men on the doorstep. They immediately attacked Siddiqi, stabbing him multiple times in the neck and chest. Siddiqi attempted to escape by running back into the house but Richards and Hope pursued him, continuing the assault. Siddiqi's parents attempted to intervene and were also stabbed. The men left the house shortly afterwards and Siddiqi's parents called the police. On their arrival it was clear that Siddiqi was gravely injured. The address is about half a mile from the

University Hospital of Wales University Hospital of Wales ( cy, Ysbyty Athrofaol Cymru) (UHW), also known as the Heath Hospital, is a major 1,000-bed hospital in the Heath district of Cardiff, Wales. UHW is a teaching hospital of Cardiff University School of Medicine. Constr ...

but there was a 20-minute delay in the arrival of an ambulance, during which time the police officers in attendance administered

CPR Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...

and unsuccessfully attempted to revive Siddiqi.

Investigation and trial

Both men were arrested days after the attack took place and were

tried In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, ...

in late 2012. CCTV footage from around Cardiff was used to trace their movements before and after the attack. Both defendants were linked to a stolen

Volvo XC90 The Volvo XC90 is a mid-size luxury SUV manufactured and marketed by Volvo Cars since 2002 and now in its second generation. The first generation was introduced at the 2002 North American International Auto Show and used the Volvo P2 platform ...

which was seen speeding from the scene of the attack – traces of Siddiqi's blood were found in the car's footwell, along with Richards' DNA. Hope's

fingerprint A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfac ...

s were found on the steering wheel. Both men blamed the other for the killing During the trial, it emerged that the men had been approached by a local man to carry out a killing over a property dispute. The intended target lived on Shirley Road, adjacent to Ninian Road where the Siddiqis lived. The two defendants went to Ninian road in error, a mistake described as an act of "staggering incompetence" by the prosecution.

Verdict and aftermath

On 1 February 2013 Richards and Hope were found guilty of murder at

Swansea Crown Court Swansea Crown Court is a Crown Court venue which deals with criminal cases at St Helen's Road in Swansea, Wales. History Until the late 1980s, judicial hearings in Swansea were held in the west wing of Swansea Guildhall. However, as the number ...

. On 12 February they were both sentenced to life imprisonment, with the judge imposing a minimum terms of 40 years. Members of the Siddiqi family described the sentence as "appropriate". Richards immediately appealed his conviction, and both men appealed their sentences in January 2014. The appeals were rejected in June 2014. During the investigation a local man named Mohammed Ali Ege emerged as a suspect, potentially as the person responsible for commissioning the crime. He was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder in India in October 2011. He escaped custody whilst using a toilet at a Delhi railway station as Indian authorities were in the process of extraditing him to the UK and has not been seen since.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Siddiqi, Aamir 2010 in Wales Deaths by person in Wales Trials in Wales 2010 murders in the United Kingdom 2010s in Cardiff Crime in Cardiff Murder in Wales British people of Pakistani descent