A mum accused of murdering her eight year old daughter was told that her child was evil and her parents would die due to her bad behaviour, a court has heard.
Polly Chowdhury received thousands of text messages from her lover, Kiki Muddar, also accused of murder, and from fictional alter egos created by Muddar. These instructed her to make her children abide by strict rules to prevent her family and friends coming to harm.
She received messages from “Skyman”, a make-believe Muslim spirit, who told her that she must ensure that her children kept the bathroom spotless, ate meals within 15 minutes and brushed their own hair.
Otherwise, she was warned, “Jimmy Chowdhury”, another alias dreamt up by Muddar, would be killed, or Muddar herself.
Muddar, 43, and Chowdhury, 35, are jointly accused of killing eight-year-old Ayesha Ali, who was found dead in the flat that the women shared in Broomfield Road, Chadwell Heath, on August 29, 2013.
The Old Bailey yesterday heard Det Const Carol Wilson and prosecutor Richard Whittan QC read through a summary of thousands of text messages sent between the two defendants and the network of fake characters created by Muddar.
Chowdhury was repeatedly told to choose between her three children and Muddar and told not to prioritise her children’s needs.
“You have to find a way not to put her [Ayesha] first or else she will be a demon all her life,” one read.
Others said, “Your daughter will pay. Your daughter is evil. Your parents will die because of all the pain she has caused,” and “You love her, you lose me. You like her and you will lose me”.
Chowdhury was also chastised for letting Ayesha stare at Muddar without disciplining her and forbidden from speaking to her family.
Police recovered 29,000 texts from Muddar’s laptop and tablet that were uploaded from her mobile, along with 1,400 phone conversations she had recorded via a downloaded app.
Evidence collected by officers showed as well as creating about 15 Facebook profiles for her imaginary network of characters, Muddar also sent texts between them.
Among them was a text from her to “Jimmy Chowdhury” in which she appears to bare her soul.
“I don’t have a husband, I don’t have kids,” it read. “I don’t get to go out much with this illness, I don’t have anything I want and I’ve never told anyone this before.”
During cross-examination, Henry Blaxland QC, for Muddar, suggested that this gave an impression of his client as a “rather sad and lonely woman”.
But Det Const Wilson warned Muddar’s actions may well have been self-serving.
Both Chowdhury and Muddar deny murder and alternative charges of manslaughter and causing or allowing the death of a child between March and August 2013.
A post-mortem revealed Ayesha’s cause of death as injuries to the head, with damage evident to the brain and around the optic nerve.
She had more than 50 injuries including a bite mark on her right shoulder, carpet burns and bruises.
The trial continues.
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