Four facing jail for murder of rival family man who had ears sliced off during vicious feud
Four men have been found guilty of murdering a father-of-four who had his ears sliced off with a machete in a long-running rival family feud.
Sajed Choudry, 42, died after spending two weeks in a coma following a horrific street attack on November 27 last year.
He was rushed to hospital after suffering shocking injuries to the top and sides of his head which saw him have his ears re-attached, using a skin graft from his legs.
During a trial, jurors heard Mr Choudry had been rowing with the Ali family for several months before the feud escalated to violence near his home in Blackburn, Lancs.
Prosecutors insisted the fatal blow was struck by Sadaqat Ali, 36, who was found guilty of murder following a trial at Preston Crown Court.
His brother Rafaqat Ali, 38, his father-in-law Fazal Ilahi, 62, and a fourth man, Syed Ali Akbar, 45, have also been convicted of Mr Choudry's murder.
A youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter.
Sadaqat Ali was also found guilty of the attempted murder of Mr Choudry's 20-year-old son Ashan.
Rafaqat Ali, Ilahi, Akbar and the youth were each cleared of the same charge.
Jurors found Rafaqat Ali, Ilahi and Akbar guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
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The youth, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was cleared of GBH but convicted of unlawful wounding.
During the trial, Lancashire Police logs recorded 41 separate complaints in the months leading up to Mr Choudry’s death.
The head of the rival family, Sadaqat Ali, had been arrested three days before the machete attack, for smashing Mr Choudry's son Ahsan, 24, over the head with a metal bar following a chance meeting in the street on November 24.
While in custody, Sadaqat Ali's wife saw another son of Mr Choudry, Mohsan, 20, approach her husband's car and slash one of the tyres, which led to his arrest.
After his release from custody, Sadaqat Ali and four others gathered armed with a cache of weapons including knives, an axe and blocks of wood before cornering Mr Choudry.
CCTV footage also captured Mr Choudry, armed with a baseball bat, and son Ahsan, who was carrying a cricket bat.
Prosecutor Gordon Cole QC said Sadaqat Ali was seen repeatedly holding the machete and at one point struck Ahsan and caused a massive gash to his left hand.
He said later Sadaqat Ali narrowly missed Sajed Choudry's wife, Shazia, with a swipe of the machete before Sajed Choudry was felled.
Trial judge Mr Justice Dove adjourned the case for sentence until September 19.
