A woman of Indian origin accused of beating up her seven-year old son “like a dog” for not memorising the Koran has been found guilty of his murder.
Sara Ege (33) beat Yaseen Ege to death at their home in Cardiff, Wales, in 2010 before setting fire to his body, the court was told.
Detectives initially believed that he died in the fire but tests later confirmed that he had died hours earlier.
Ms. Ege, a university graduate and who hails from Hyderabad, was also found guilty of perverting the course of justice.
Blames husband
During the trial, she pleaded not guilty and blamed her son’s death on her husband, Yousouf Ege, a taxi driver. She claimed that she feared that he would kill her unless she confessed to the murder.
However, the jury found him not guilty.
Ms. Ege broke down as the jury at Cardiff Crown Court read out the verdict. She held her head in her hands and cried. The judge told her she faced a life term imprisonment. She would be sentenced in the New Year.
The court heard that the couple had enrolled Yaseen at a local mosque and wanted him to become Hafiz but Ms. Ege became increasingly frustrated with her son's inability to learn the passages.
“I was getting all this bad stuff in my head, like I couldn’t concentrate, I was getting angry too much, I would shout at Yaseen all the time. I was getting very wild and I hit Yaseen with a stick on his back like a dog,” she told the police but later retracted her statement.
According to the prosecution, Yaseen suffered significant abdominal injuries that led to his death.
“Sara Ege made no attempt to seek the medical attention he so obviously needed,” prosecutor Ian Murphy said.
