In 2009, a pregnant woman died in her bed. Her husband and his family were in the house at the time. The prosecution insists that Nalia Mumtaz was smothered by her husband, Mohammed Mumtaz. The defense has a rather interesting defense.

Via the Daily Mail:

A pregnant wife was smothered to death by her husband, his parents and his brother-in-law who later all claimed she may have been killed by an evil spirit, a court has heard.

Nalia Mumtaz, 21, was pronounced dead at hospital after being rushed there by paramedics who found her lying lifeless and ashen faced on a bed at the family home. Her unborn child died with her.

Her husband Mohammed Mumtaz, 24, his father Zia Ul Haq and mother Salma Aslam, both 51, as well as his brother in law Hammad Hassan, 24, all deny charges of murder and manslaughter.

At Birmingham Crown Court today, prosecutor Christopher Hotten said the cultural context in which Mrs Mumtaz met her death on July 8, 2009 was of importance, as were the religious beliefs of the defendants, described as a ‘traditional Muslim family with an emphasis on religious observance’.

He asked the jury: ‘Was she or may she have been possessed by an evil spirit which took her life as the defendants were to suggest both at the time and after her death?

‘Or may she have died as a result of some unknown or undetected illness?

‘Or will you be sure that, as we say, she was assaulted, smothered, by these four defendants all of whom admit they were present when she died?’

Though it’s interesting to see the Daily Mail refer to the ‘death’ of the unborn in this story, the publication did no such thing after it was learned that one of the victims of Fort Hood Jihadist Nidal Malik Hasan, was pregnant, which brought the total number of murders to 14. Here are some excerpts from a Daily Mail report on Hasan from November 9, 2009, well after it had been learned that murder victim Francheska Velez was pregnant at the time of her death:

The military psychiatrist accused of shooting 13 people dead during a rampage at a U.S. army base is awake and talking, hospital staff said today.

The family of the Army psychiatrist who killed 13 and wounded 29 at the Texas military base, held his mother’s funeral at the Dar al Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia, on May 31, 2001, according to her obituary in the Roanoke Times newspaper.

Army psychiatrist Major Hasan had killed 13 and left 31 injured after he jumped on to a desk screaming ‘Allahu Akbar’ – God in Great – and fired on defenceless colleagues.

He then moved on to treat Hasan, the man he had just seen shooting his fellow soldiers.

Army psychiatrist Major Hasan had killed 13 and left 31 injured after he jumped on to a desk screaming ‘Allahu Akbar’ – God in Great – and fired on defenceless colleagues.

So the unborn Muslim baby was killed by her family jinn and the infidel American woman’s baby never existed?

h/t Jawa

Ben Barrack is a talk show host and author of the upcoming book, Unsung Davids