Kulsuma Akter: Man pleads guilty to manslaughter after stabbing wife while she pushed their baby in a pram

Kulsuma Akter, 27, was attacked on April 6, 2023, at the junction of Westgate and Drewton Road. She was taken to hospital but later died from her injuries. The baby was unharmed, according to police.

On Thursday, her husband, Habibur Masum, 26, pleaded guilty at Bradford Crown Court to manslaughter and possession of a knife. However, he denied murder and is expected to stand trial on that charge next Monday.

The judge, Mr Justice Cotter, remanded Masum in custody until the start of the trial. Masum followed court proceedings with the help of a Bengali interpreter.

At an earlier hearing, Masum also denied two counts of assault, one count of making threats to kill, and one charge of stalking.

Prosecutors allege the assaults and threats took place over two days in November 2023, and that Masum stalked Ms Akter between November and April. The stalking charge claims Masum “tracked her movements and located her at a safe house, sent her messages of a menacing nature which contained threats to kill another and photos and videos of the area and premises where she was residing.”

He is also alleged to have “loitered in the area of her temporary residence” and caused Ms Akter “alarm or distress” and to “fear that violence would be used against her.”

The trial for the murder charge is scheduled to begin Monday at Bradford Crown Court.