Detective Chief Inspector Caroline Goode headed the inquiry into the disappearance of 20-year-old Banaz Mahmood from South London in January 2006, ultimately securing life sentences for her father Mahmod Mahmod, uncle Ari Mahmod and cousin Mohammed Hama.
Banaz, an Iraqi-Kurdish woman who arrived in the UK at age 10 and lived in Merton, had warned police that her family planned to kill her. Her younger sister Payzee described Banaz as quiet, caring and eager to work with children and the elderly.
The family adhered to strict honour codes; when eldest sister Bekhal resisted an arranged marriage, Mahmod forced both Banaz and Payzee into marriages of his choosing. Banaz married a man ten years older at 16, reported his abuse to police and later left him for Rahmat Sulemani, a 28-year-old Kurdish man.
Mahmod and male relatives felt their reputation was damaged by Banaz's defiance. After Rahmat reported her missing, police dismissed the family's claim that she was out with friends. Detectives soon uncovered that Banaz was under constant monitoring by her uncle Ari and other men.
On 2 December 2005, Banaz and Rahmat were seen kissing outside Morden station. Later that day, Ari called her mother with threats, prompting Banaz to warn police that senior men were plotting her and Rahmat's murder.
Cousins Mohammed Saleh Ali, Omar Hussain and Mohammed Hama planned the killing. An attempted abduction of Rahmat failed, and on New Year's Eve Banaz's father took her to her grandmother's house, where he tried to kill her. She escaped, broke a neighbour's window and was taken to hospital, but an officer dismissed her story.
Police found a note from Banaz naming the four men involved. While Ali and Hussain fled to Iraq, Hama was tracked via a rented Ford Focus equipped with a GPS tracker. Hama later surrendered, admitted attending the murder meeting, and was charged despite the body not yet being found.
Covert recordings captured Hama describing the strangulation, sexual assault and placement of Banaz's body in a suitcase. An aerial search in Birmingham identified a derelict house belonging to a relative; investigators uncovered the suitcase containing Banaz's body, still wearing only her knickers, with a ligature around her neck.
Mahmod and Ari were arrested, and after 17 months the three perpetrators received life sentences: Ali at least 22 years, Hussain 21 years and Hama also sentenced to life. Extradition of Ali and Hussain from Iraq was achieved through persistent diplomatic effort, aided by activist Diana Nammi.
Rahmat Sulemani, devastated by the events, died by suicide in 2016. Payzee remembered him as a brave figure for standing against abuse.
Murder Scene: The Incident Room, Wednesday 28 October, 8 pm on 5
