The Legacy

When a newly wed mother-to-be plunges over a cliff at one of the most iconic beauty spots in Edinburgh, Scotland, authorities are quick to question her husband, who has many secrets.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  The real cost of a break-in isn't your valuables. It's the feeling that your home stopped being safe. SimpliSafe keeps danger away from your family with three layers of protection. One, smart AI cameras and live US-based agents help stop intruders before they break in. Two, we sound the alarm at points of entry. Three, our agents request emergency response. Plans starting around a dollar a day. Right now, get 70% off your new system with professional monitoring at simplisafe.com/truecrime. Outdoor deterrence plans start at $49.99 a month. Visit simplisafe.com/licenses for alarm license information.

• 0:30Speaker 01

  Cash flow crunch? OnDeck's small business line of credit gives your business immediate access to funds up to $200,000 right when you need it. Cover seasonal dips, manage payroll, restock inventory, or tackle unexpected expenses without missing a beat. With flexible draws, transparent pricing, and control over repayment, get funded quickly and confidently. Apply today at ondeck.com. Funds could be available as soon as tomorrow. Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by OnDeck or Celtic Bank. OnDeck does not lend in North Dakota. All loans and amounts subject to lender approval.

• 1:00Speaker 02

  The hustle of the holiday season is here.

• 1:02Speaker 03

  Presents to buy, parties to plan. When do I have time to cook?

• 1:06Speaker 02

  You have enough on your plate. Let Royal Farms help. Get a 12-piece, world-famous mixed chicken meal with family-size Western fries for just $20.

• 1:14Speaker 03

  Oh, now we're talking.

• 1:16Speaker 02

  Planning a holiday party? Royal Farms catering has you covered with delicious chicken, subs, and wraps for as little as $5 for guests.

• 1:23Speaker 03

  Tell me why I didn't do this sooner.

• 1:25Speaker 02

  Be the holiday hero with Royal Farms. Real fresh, real fast.

• 1:30Speaker 04

  Hi, park enthusiasts. I'm your host, Delia D'Ambra. And the case I'm going to tell you about today takes place in Hollyrood Park in Edinburgh, Scotland. It's another case that came through The Park Predator's online case submission form. And the moment I started reading about it, I knew it was exactly the type of story that I wanted to feature on this show's platform. The victim, her amazing family, the advocacy work they're doing in her honor, it's all so important because literally more lives are being saved, even in the shadow of their great loss. A noteworthy detail about the circumstances of this crime have to do with the makeup of the landscape it happened in.

• 2:11Speaker 04

  Hollyrood Park sits in the heart of Edinburgh and features cliffs, rolling hills, and stunning views of the city. One of its most popular attractions is an 823-foot-high peak called Arthur's Seat. Some legends say it's named after King Arthur, but other tales suggest it originated from Gaelic culture. Where exactly the name came from is still up for debate. But two undisputed facts about this landmark is that it is the highest part of the park, and it was forged from volcanic activity and glaciers. So, fire and ice, two powerful but opposing forces. And the same is true about the disposition of the perpetrator in today's story.

• 2:54Speaker 04

  Because in the end, it was his fiery anger that culminated in what a Scottish court and many in the United Kingdom say was nothing short of cold-blooded murder. This is Park Predators.

• 3:21Speaker 04

  Shortly after 8:15 PM on Thursday, September 2, 2021, a woman hiking down from the peak of Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh, Scotland, heard someone behind her yell to try and get her attention. Her natural response to the noise was to look back and see who it was. When she did, she noticed a man behind her standing up the slope a short distance away. And then suddenly, the guy broke into a full-blown sprint and headed straight toward her. She immediately could tell the man was upset and in a panic. He explained that his wife had just fallen off the side of the summit, and he needed help making his way down the trail because he was having a hard time seeing. Now, when this was all happening, the sun had already set,

• 4:06Speaker 04

  so it was fairly dark in the park, especially around the path that these two people were walking on. Because based on what I read about Hollyrood Park, this was a rugged landscape. There were no streetlights or anything like that to light the way to and from Arthur's Seat. When the woman asked the man where exactly his wife had gone over the edge, he told her he wasn't sure because it had all happened very quickly, and he wasn't familiar with the area. Unfortunately, this hiker's cellphone had died during her walk, so she wasn't able to call 999, which is the United Kingdom's emergency services number similar to what 911 is in the United States. And the guy claimed that he and his wife's devices were with his wife down the peak,

• 4:49Speaker 04

  so as far as calling for help, they weren't able to. After that, the witness heard the man begin panically shouting his wife's name, Fozia. So she began hollering the name too. And together, they kept yelling it over and over again, but they didn't get a response. As the seconds ticked by, the hiker could see that the man was growing more and more upset. He then blurted out that his wife was pregnant, which the hiker was stunned by because she would later testify that, in her opinion, such an important piece of information would have been something most people disclosed at the start. Yet, this guy hadn't. But in the moment, she didn't seem to dwell on it.

• 5:32Speaker 04

  It was just another concerning detail that made the urgency of the situation that much higher. Around 9 PM, as they continued to yell Fozia's name, two other hikers came across their path, one of whom was a man who did have a working cellphone. And he quickly dialed 999. Audio from that call was played in a Channel 4 documentary about this case titled "The Push: Murder on the Cliff." And you can hear the second witness tell dispatchers that there was a man on Arthur's Seat who needed to report that his wife had fallen. The caller also disclosed that he'd personally heard someone scream shortly before the panicked guy rushed over to ask for help. Meanwhile, the woman who'd first encountered the husband

• 6:16Speaker 04

  left him with the people who'd put him in touch with dispatchers, and she headed back up the summit to try and locate the guy's wife. On her way, though, she realized that the man was trying to follow her, but he couldn't get very far because he'd kept slipping on the terrain. She would later testify that he was wearing Converse brand sneakers at the time, which seemed to be what was causing him to slip. But interestingly, she was actually wearing the same brand shoe. However, she wasn't slipping like he was. Eventually, the husband returned to the people who'd called 999 for him and got on the phone with ambulance dispatchers, who wanted to ask him some questions. Audio from that part of the call was also played in the Channel 4 documentary I mentioned earlier.

• 6:59Speaker 04

  And in it, the man explains that his wife, Fozia, had fallen into what he described as total darkness after they'd both slipped on rocks while walking back from the top of Arthur's Seat. He said that she'd been hiking slightly in front of him when they both lost their footing. He'd tried to grab her arm, but she'd gone sideways and fallen out of his reach. While he was on the phone explaining all this, the original hiker he'd first encountered, the woman, had made her way down the side of the summit and come across Fozia, who was badly injured but still alive. As soon as the witness found her, she shouted up the hill to let Fozia's husband know she located her, to which the husband responded by asking, quote, "Is she bleeding? Is she bleeding?

• 7:43Speaker 04

  Is she alive?" end quote. You can actually hear this exchange in the audio from the emergency services call. It's honestly kind of wild how all of this was captured in real time, even though it was pitch black and there was so much going on. An exchange that wasn't recorded, though, at least not digitally, was a verbal interaction between the hiker who was tending to Fozia and Fozia herself as she lay crumpled on the side of the hill. According to that witness, Fozia had heard her husband ask, "Is she bleeding? Is she bleeding? Is she alive?" And she told the Good Samaritan to not let her husband come near her because she had not fallen. He'd pushed her off the cliff.

• 8:26Speaker 04

  Which, of course, was a statement that stunned the witness, and she wanted to make sure she'd heard Fozia correctly. So she asked, "He pushed you?" To which Fozia replied, quote, "I think so. I can't remember," end quote. She went on to explain that her phone was still with her husband, Kishif, because he'd taken it away from her after she'd tried to break up with him during their hike. She also explained that that was the reason he'd pushed her, because she'd informed him she wanted to end their marriage. Not too long after Fozia was located, a constable from Police Scotland arrived on scene and made her way to where she and the Good Samaritan were. That constable would later testify

• 9:08Speaker 04

  that the area Fozia was laying in was on a very steep incline and dotted with bushes. It was obvious the young mother was in dire shape because she had a noticeable head injury and was writhing in pain. Not long after the constable got on scene, fire service personnel arrived, but Fozia quickly became unresponsive. The constable administered chest compressions, but sadly, after a while of doing that, it became apparent she wasn't going to survive. And at 10:18 PM, Fozia was officially pronounced deceased.

• 9:42Speaker 04

  Naturally, one of the first people authorities wanted to speak with about the incident was Kashif. A firefighter who'd come to the scene that night would later testify that he'd encountered the 27-year-old not long after emergency services had been called. And by that point, Kashif seemed calm. According to this firefighter, Kashif told him that while on the summit of Arthur's Seat, he and Fazia had stood up to take a selfie together. He claimed that while snapping the photo, he'd slipped and bumped her, which caused her to fall over the edge. However, when questioned by police officers at a Police Scotland station shortly after the incident, Kashif provided a slightly different version of events.

• 10:23Speaker 04

  According to officers who later testified in court and spoke with producers for Channel 4, after being notified that his wife was dead, Kashif voluntarily told police the following information. He said that he and Fazia were visiting Scotland from where they lived in Leeds, England, and the trip was a belated honeymoon of sorts. They'd gotten married about eight months earlier, in December 2020. And on the night in question, he said they'd started their getaway in Edinburgh with dinner around 6 o'clock, and then they took a walk through the city toward Arthur's Seat. He said they'd arrived at the landmark shortly after 7 o'clock, and it had taken them a while to hike all the way up to the summit. Their goal was to try and catch the sunset, except by the time they got there, the sun

• 11:08Speaker 04

  had already set, so they just decided to make the best of it and then make their way back down. According to Kashif, it was on their way down that he'd lost his footing and fallen into his wife, forcing her off balance and over the edge of the summit. He said as she fell, he'd heard her screaming, and then what sounded like a thud. After providing this statement, Kashif consented to a search of his person, and authorities seized one cellphone from him, which belonged to Fazia. His device was never at the scene, because, turns out, he'd reportedly lost it at a train station on their way up to Scotland just a day or so earlier. So throughout their time in Edinburgh, they'd only been using Fazia's device.

• 11:51Speaker 04

  An investigator with Police Scotland told producers with Channel 4 that right away, he and his colleagues were suspicious of Kashif. It was extremely rare for anyone to fall from Arthur's Seat. In fact, the worst incident this investigator could think of that had occurred in the park was maybe someone breaking a bone, not plunging over the side of the summit. Still, in order for authorities to prove Kashif had intentionally shoved his wife, which was going to be very difficult to do, just given the circumstances, they knew they needed to dig much deeper into the couple's marriage and life. They were confident they had at least enough to hold him, but to see the case through to a potential prosecution was going to require a lot more legwork.

• 12:36Speaker 04

  So around 11:00 PM that night, another police constable tried to take a crack at Kashif, but this time, he invoked his right not to comment any further. Shortly after that, police charged him with murder and booked him in jail pending his first appearance. A few hours later, around 5 o'clock in the morning on September 3, some four hours away in Leeds, England, Fazia's parents, Yasmin and Mohamed Javed, awoke to a knock on their door. It was the police informing them of their daughter's death. One of Fazia's uncles lived in the same house as Yasmin and Mohamed, and he told producers for Channel 4 that he woke up to just the sound of screaming coming from downstairs.

• 13:18Speaker 04

  Fazia was Yasmin and Mohamed's only child, and their family was very close. Her mom told producers for Channel 4 that Fazia was her entire life. From a young age, she was a talkative, caring, friendly person who was confident in what she stood for and who she wanted to become. For example, when Fazia was just eight years old, her mom said she'd made up her mind. She wanted to grow up and become a lawyer. And sure enough, after years of being the only person in her family to attend private education, Fazia graduated and became an employment lawyer. One of Fazia's colleagues at the law firm described her to producers for Channel 4's

• 13:58Speaker 04

  documentary as charismatic and someone who was impossible not to love. The 31-year-old was also very passionate about humanitarian work and regularly volunteered to help people in need. She and her parents would also take vacations abroad together, and the bond that Fazia shared with her mother was extremely strong. In 2019, though, the Javeds welcomed a new person into their tight circle: Kashif Anwar. At the time, he was working as an optical assistant in a store Yasmin bought some glasses from. During that visit, Fazia had been with her and chatted it up with Kashif. After that, they ran into each other again and started hanging out.

• 14:40Speaker 04

  Initially, Yasmin said that she and her husband thought Kashif made Fazia really happy. He seemed to care a lot about her and came across as a very genuine person. Yasmin explained to me in our interview that, being Muslim, young people like Fazia and Kashif would not date in the traditional sense, where they referred to one another as boyfriend and girlfriend. She said, in their culture, when a woman like Fazia had a guy who was interested in her, he would propose, and then there would be a period of time where both families would get to know one another. Yasmin said that, over the course of Fazia's adult life, she'd actually had several men propose to her and go through this prospective marriage process. But for one reason or another, those engagements didn't work out, either because the couple

• 15:25Speaker 04

  lived too far apart, or they just weren't compatible. But when Fazia and Kashif met, though, things were different. Their family spent about 16 to 18 months getting to know one another, and eventually the couple tied the knot in December 2020. Not long into their marriage, though, red flags started popping up. Clues that Yasmin had only seen glimpses of during the couple's courting process. And nothing about them sat right with her.

• 15:52Speaker 00

  The real cost of a break-in isn't your valuables, it's the feeling that your home stopped being safe. SimpliSafe keeps danger away from your family with three layers of protection. One, smart AI cameras and live US-based agents help stop intruders before they break in. Two, we sound the alarm at points of entry. Three, our agents request emergency response. Plans starting around $1 a day. Right now, get 70% off your new system with professional monitoring at simplisafe.com/truecrime. Outdoor deterrence plans start at $49.99 a month. Visit simplisafe.com/licenses for alarm license information.

• 16:25Speaker 01

  OnDeck is built to back small businesses like yours. Whether you're buying equipment, expanding your team, or bridging cash flow gaps, OnDeck's loans up to $400,000 help make it happen fast. Rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau and earning thousands of five-star TrustPilot reviews, OnDeck delivers funding you can count on. Apply in minutes at ondeck.com. Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by OnDeck or Celtic Bank. OnDeck does not lend in North Dakota. All loans and amounts subject to lender approval.

• 17:00Speaker 04

  After Fazia married Kashif, it was a cultural custom that she would move in with him and his parents to help their household. Yasmin told the Anwars that Fazia could do basic housework and stuff, but they needed to understand something. She was very invested in her career, and she would not be a stay-at-home wife 100% of the time. And initially, Kashif's parents said they were cool with that. But fairly early into the couple's marriage, it became apparent that was not the case. Yasmin told me in our interview that she and her husband quickly noticed that their son-in-law and his parents behaved differently after Fazia went to live with them. For example, rarely if ever did they allow her to visit them just by herself.

• 17:45Speaker 04

  Kashif or his parents would always be with her. Yasmin said that, in general, the Anwars seemed very controlling, especially Kashif. She said that as soon as he and her daughter got married, he stopped letting Fazia speak with her friends or hang out with people by herself. He deactivated her Facebook accounts, and he even blocked male family members on her phone. One of Fazia's uncles, who'd never liked Kashif from the start because he felt he was arrogant and she was out of his league, told producers for Channel 4's documentary that despite being put off by his niece's new husband, he respected Fazia's choice to marry him. Yasmin and her husband also noticed that Kashif would have outbursts of anger that seemed to come out of nowhere.

• 18:30Speaker 04

  She told producers for Channel 4 that when they joined the couple to go pick up their wedding bands, they'd gotten back into the car and buckled up, except Kashif didn't put his seatbelt on, and Fazia advised him that he should because she didn't want to get in trouble for it. According to Yasmin, Kashif just started screaming and cursing at Fazia, which was a side of him they'd never seen before. After that outburst, Yasmin said Kashif then immediately started to apologize profusely and blamed his overreaction on being stressed out about studying for school. Yasmin didn't realize the full extent of Kashif's abuse toward Fazia, though, until April 30, 2021, just a few months before her murder.

• 19:15Speaker 04

  That weekend fell on Ramadan, which is the ninth month in the Muslim calendar, where followers of Islam pray, fast, and meditate and visit with their families. So in observance of that, Fazia had returned to her parents' home by herself, but Kashif was not happy about it. While on the phone with him, Fazia recorded their calls on her iPad, and the sheer disgust I felt when I listened to that audio, which was eventually played in court and then presented in Channel 4's documentary, is something I can't even put into words. I've had two voice actors read a verbatim exchange from Kashif and Fazia's first call from that day, because I think it's important for you all to hear exactly what he said to her.

• 20:00Speaker 05

  In terms of moving forward, what are you going to do? Are you going to come back tomorrow like I told you to? I don't have

• 20:07Speaker 06

  To answer to that.

• 20:09Speaker 05

  This is the last time I'm gonna call you, by the way, and if you don't come back tomorrow, I'm not gonna bother with you. I'm going to be very blunt about that.

• 20:17Speaker 06

  That's fine.

• 20:18Speaker 05

  Your mum and dad want that anyway. They want you out of my life so they can get a little Fazia back.

• 20:22Speaker 06

  Yeah, yeah, cool.

• 20:23Speaker 05

  Yeah, that's what you want as well.

• 20:24Speaker 06

  Kashif, I'm not coming back tomorrow.

• 20:27Speaker 05

  You're not coming back tomorrow?

• 20:28Speaker 06

  No, I'm not coming back tomorrow, no.

• 20:31Speaker 05

  Who the fuck do you think you are?

• 20:33Speaker 06

  Why are you swearing at me again?

• 20:34Speaker 05

  No, no, no.

• 20:35Speaker 06

  Kashif, you are incapable of change.

• 20:38Speaker 05

  Who are you? Listen to me, I'm not gonna call you again.

• 20:42Speaker 06

  That's fine, you said that, I heard that loud and clear.

• 20:45Speaker 05

  No, genuinely, you might as well block me as well. Listen, you daft bastard, I'll swear at you now. Block me, delete all the wedding photos, delete everything.

• 20:55Speaker 06

  That's fine, that's fine.

• 20:56Speaker 05

  Because that's what you are. You're a disease in everyone's life. So the sooner you're dead, or the sooner you're out of my life, it'll be better.

• 21:04Speaker 04

  That last comment made Fazia really upset. But they did speak again later that same day. However, Kashif's verbal abuse seemed to have only gotten worse.

• 21:15Speaker 06

  Do I not have a say in how I live my life with you?

• 21:18Speaker 05

  No, you can't. With what? With what? Because you're married now.

• 21:23Speaker 06

  Yeah, but can I not have a say? Can I not have an opinion?

• 21:26Speaker 05

  You're being a bitch, and I've told you. Your husband told you. Come back tomorrow. Why the fuck are you not listening?

• 21:34Speaker 06

  Look at how you're speaking to me.

• 21:36Speaker 05

  Yeah, because I'm pissed off at you, aren't I? You've been told to come back tomorrow. Why are you challenging me?

• 21:41Speaker 06

  I'm saying that you can't accept that you have a problem and that you need to change.

• 21:46Speaker 05

  I will genuinely pull your mum's tongue out her mouth next time she says that I need help. You got that from her.

• 21:52Speaker 06

  Cash, cash.

• 21:53Speaker 05

  Listen, listen, listen. I am telling you as your husband, you're coming back tomorrow. Get yourself back here tomorrow, like I've said. Stop challenging me because you're not gonna get anywhere in life if you challenge me, especially with this. You know, who do you think you are? You're not a man. Start behaving like a woman. Do not be that British woman. I'm telling you now, it's not gonna work. You're coming back tomorrow because you were told to.

• 22:17Speaker 06

  Cash, you're a horrible person. If you love someone, you don't treat them the way that you do. You don't make them feel the way that you make me feel.

• 22:27Speaker 05

  As soon as you got with me, I was very dominant. I've changed not one single bit. Why the fuck did you decide to ruin my fucking life?

• 22:35Speaker 06

  You ruined my life?

• 22:36Speaker 05

  I'll tell you one thing, you end this and I will ruin yours.

• 22:40Speaker 06

  Yeah, you already said that to me so many times.

• 22:43Speaker 05

  But you know what, Fazia? I mean it.

• 22:46Speaker 04

  After Fazia shared with her mum that she'd recorded these phone conversations between her and Kashif, Yasmin called the police. During the officer's visit to the Javed's home, one of them turned on her body cam. And you can see and hear Fazia and Yasmin detailing to her how long this abuse had been going on and how concerning Kashif's behaviours were. When the responding officer turned to Fazia and asked her if she'd experienced any other forms of abuse, she said yes. Kashif had previously put a pillow over her face and punched it. Unfortunately, though, Fazia was adamant that she didn't want the officer to press charges against her husband. She just wanted the Ramadan phone call incident logged with the police

• 23:30Speaker 04

  so that there would be an established record for the future. In addition to the verbal abuse, there was also financial abuse on Kashif's part. Either shortly before or after the April 30th phone calls, Fazia told her mum Yasmin that Kashif had logged into her bank account and withdrawn thousands of pounds when she'd threatened to leave him. Which Yasmin said was just another way Kashif enacted abuse and control over Fazia. Taking the money was his way of trying to cut off financial resources that would have made it easier for her to leave their marriage. If Yasmin could have had it her way, she would have had Fazia just come home and live with her and Mohammed. But because Fazia had always been an advocate of what was fair and just,

• 24:14Speaker 04

  she was determined to try and find a way to recoup the large sum of money Kashif had stolen from her. So despite the Ramadan incident and having to phone the police to report Kashif's escalating verbal abuse, Fazia ended up returning to live with the Anwar's. In May of that year, worried for her daughter's safety and wellbeing, Yasmin reached out to a charity called Karma Nirvana, which helps victims and survivors of honour-based abuse. Which, per that organisation's website, is a form of domestic abuse that's motivated by an abuser's perception that a person has brought or may bring dishonor or shame to themselves, their family, or the community.

• 24:54Speaker 04

  Honour-based abusers believe that you must control an individual to make them behave in certain ways or subscribe to certain beliefs. This type of abuse is not exclusive to a particular cultural tradition or religious practice. It can occur within any community regardless of faith or background. Yasmin told me that with Islamic faith, the best of men are those who are good to their wives, and the act of murder is forbidden. She said that the way murder is viewed in their religion, if you kill one person, it's like you've killed the whole of mankind. In terms of getting a divorce, it's definitely permitted. Like, if a woman isn't happy in her marriage, she can get divorced, period.

• 25:37Speaker 04

  Yasmin believes that in Kashif's mind and his parents' minds, they saw the couple potentially getting divorced as more condemnable than Fazia being murdered. Because, in their eyes, getting divorced would have brought more dishonor to the Anwar family. Yasmin referred to this kind of thinking as warped, and said that in the end, the Anwar's were only brought more shame because, once news broke that Kashif had been arrested for the murder of his wife, his mugshot was everywhere. And the Anwar's received so much unwanted negative attention because of the allegations against him. However, if Kashif and Fazia could have just parted ways and gotten a divorce, things would have been totally different.

• 26:21Speaker 04

  But unfortunately, that didn't happen. And Fazia and Kashif continued to stay married throughout the summer of 2021. Then, just a few months after the Ramadan incident, something unexpected happened. Fazia announced she was pregnant.

• 26:40Speaker 00

  The real cost of a break-in isn't your valuables, it's the feeling that your home stopped being safe. SimpliSafe keeps danger away from your family with three layers of protection. One, smart AI cameras and live US-based agents help stop intruders before they break in. Two, we sound the alarm at points of entry. Three, our agents request emergency response. Plans starting around a dollar a day. Right now, get 70% off your new system with professional monitoring at simplisafe.com/truecrime.

• 27:05Speaker 07

  Outdoor deterrence plans start at $49.99 a month. Visit simplisafe.com/licenses for alarm license information.

• 27:10Speaker 01

  OnDeck is built to back small businesses like yours. Whether you're buying equipment, expanding your team, or bridging cash flow gaps, OnDeck's loans up to $400,000 help make it happen fast. Rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau and earning thousands of five-star TrustPilot reviews, OnDeck delivers funding you can count on. Apply in minutes at ondeck.com. Depending on certain loan attributes, your business loan may be issued by OnDeck or Celtic Bank. OnDeck does not lend in North Dakota. All loans and amounts subject to lender approval.

• 27:39Speaker 02

  The hustle of the holiday season is here.

• 27:41Speaker 03

  Presents to buy, parties to plan, when do I have time to cook?

• 27:45Speaker 02

  You have enough on your plate. Let Royal Farms help. Get a 12-piece, world-famous, mixed chicken meal with family-sized western fries for just $20.

• 27:53Speaker 03

  Oh, now we're talking.

• 27:55Speaker 02

  Planning a holiday party? Royal Farms catering has you covered with delicious chicken, subs, and wraps for as little as $5 for guests.

• 28:02Speaker 03

  Tell me why I didn't do this sooner.

• 28:04Speaker 02

  Be the holiday hero with Royal Farms. Real fresh, real fast.

• 28:13Speaker 04

  Yasmin told me in our interview that her daughter was almost 17 weeks into her pregnancy when she died. Throughout that summer, she and Kashif had gone to doctor's appointments together and had ultrasound images taken. And Yasmin told producers for Channel 4's documentary that Fazia was genuinely excited to be expecting a baby. In fact, initially, she'd reconsidered making her marriage work for the sake of their child. But a lot of her newfound joy quickly faded by mid-August because, despite the fact that they were gonna share a child together, Kashif continued abusing Fazia. A natal ward infirmary nurse, who would later testify in court, said that in mid-August, she'd been working in Fazia's doctor's office

• 28:57Speaker 04

  and overheard Kashif repeatedly call his wife a derogatory name and say things like he'd wished he'd never married her. This nurse also said that at one point Kashif stated that if one of them were to die in childbirth, it would be a good thing because then finally they would be free from one another. While overhearing him make these statements, the nurse became very concerned about Fazia's safety. And eventually Yasmin learned about this incident too. She told producers for Channel 4 that after it happened, she'd asked the Anwar's to come over to talk about it. But when the two families got together, all she heard from Kashif's dad, who is also named Mohammed, was that he seemed to be more focused on not getting law enforcement involved in the matter

• 29:42Speaker 04

  because he had his reputation to worry about. During this conversation with Kashif's parents, Yasmin was kind of stunned because it didn't seem like either of them had much regard for Fazia's safety. Yasmin had this scary thought. If they were like this in front of her and her husband, how bad must things be for Fazia back at the Anwar's home? And the answer was, not good. Because, as investigators would soon learn, there was video evidence that proved Kashif's father was not only aware of how his son was treating Fazia, but he might have known a lot more than he was saying. Prior to Fazia's murder, there had been a deeply disturbing public incident on a roadway in Leeds

• 30:27Speaker 04

  that showed authorities all they needed to know about how much Kashif's abuse was escalating physically. Per CCTV footage, which prosecutors would later present in court, Fazia had been walking by herself on the sidewalk when all of a sudden, a vehicle swerved off the road and stopped. Kashif got out and physically forced her against the car, and then he violently yanked at her as she tried to resist him. Eventually, Fazia broke free from Kashif and walked off crying and looking extremely upset. Now, during this incident, a person had seen what happened and stopped to check on Fazia. This witness asked her if she was going to ring the police, but Fazia told them she didn't want to get law enforcement involved

• 31:12Speaker 04

  and was just going to keep walking toward her mom's house. But then, just moments later, a different vehicle came into frame and pulled over. The driver was Kashif's father, Mohammed Anwar. He offered Fazia a ride, which she initially declined, but then after a few moments, she either changed her mind or something happened because she got in with him. Then, they drove off together. Immediately following that incident, Yasmin said that Fazia told her she was going to leave Kashif for good, and she'd even gone as far as getting in touch with a divorce lawyer. The only thing holding her up from making big moves in that direction was a wedding party ceremony that the Anwars were planning to throw the couple

• 31:54Speaker 04

  as part of a cultural observance where the groom's family does basically another wedding reception, but delayed. Yasmin told producers for Channel 4 that Fazia wanted to get that event out of the way so that she'd cause as little damage as possible to everyone on her husband's side of the family. On the heels of that ceremony, the couple was going away to Edinburgh for five days as a honeymoon of sorts. And then, according to Yasmin, when Fazia returned to England, she was going to proceed with filing for divorce and come back home to live with them. On Monday, September 6, 2021, four days after Kashif's arrest, he had his first appearance in Edinburgh Sheriff Court, but he didn't enter a plea,

• 32:36Speaker 04

  which basically just means he didn't admit or deny the charge against him at that moment, likely so he could have more time to retain an attorney and review the evidence. Because he declined to enter a plea, though, he was kept in custody until his next court date. Not much happened between then and the end of the year as far as court proceedings go. And in early February 2022, on what would have been Fazia's due date, her loved ones held two different vigils in her and her unborn son's memory. One vigil took place in Leeds and the other in Edinburgh. A few months later, in July 2022, prosecutors announced that they intended to take Kashif to trial in the spring of 2023. At that point, the charges against him had been revised.

• 33:21Speaker 04

  In addition to murder, he was also accused of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner against his wife on the day of the crime. At a hearing at the High Court in Glasgow, he pleaded not guilty to both offenses, and his trial was scheduled for the following spring. The two-part Channel 4 documentary titled "The Push: Murder on the Cliff" chronicles the events leading up to and during this part of the case. And when the proceedings opened in the High Court of Edinburgh in late March 2023, there were two opposing arguments jurors had to consider. The prosecution's case was this: Kashif, a habitually abusive partner, assaulted Fazia and intentionally pushed her off Arthur's Seat,

• 34:05Speaker 04

  killing her and her unborn baby. The defense's position, as you'd expect, was the complete opposite. The fall was a tragic accident. Yes, the couple had problems. Yes, Kashif was, as his lawyer put it, "an abusive, controlling, nasty individual", but jurors weren't being asked to find him guilty of those things. They were being asked to find him guilty of murder. Yasmin told me that for her and many members of the Javed family, the trial was grueling. Not only because there was so much media coverage and they were still reeling from the pain of having lost their only child, but because across the aisle, Kashif's parents and friends openly gestured to him in support.

• 34:49Speaker 04

  Yasmin said they would blow him kisses, give him thumbs up, and wave, which were all things that she was deeply hurt by. In totality, she referred to the trial as "hell on earth". One of the witnesses to take the stand was the man who dialed 999. He testified that prior to encountering Kashif, he'd heard a man and a woman screaming somewhere on the summit of Arthur's Seat. However, that was slightly different information than what this witness articulated on the 999 call. In that recording, he'd stated that he'd just heard "a scream" come from the summit. Kashif's defense attorney also grilled this witness about his own knowledge of the summit, to which the witness explained that he was a regular visitor to the area,

• 35:33Speaker 04

  and even he knew there were craggy cliffs on the steep side of Arthur's Seat, which I think was information the defense wanted to elicit from this witness so that jurors could hear from an independent party how it was possible someone could accidentally fall from that landmark. When Yasmin testified, she told the court about how it had always been Fazia's plan to leave Kashif as soon as the trip to Scotland ended. However, defense attorney Ian Dugood challenged that narrative by asking the question: If Fazia was so done with Kashif and ready to get out of their abusive marriage, why did she go with him to Edinburgh at all? Why not leave him prior to the trip if things were so bad? Yasmin explained to jurors, though,

• 36:17Speaker 04

  that her daughter told her she was just putting on a front with Kashif during their trip to Edinburgh. She was just going through all the motions she had to to keep him happy until she could get home and leave him. In court, CCTV footage of the couple's movements leading up to their hike to Arthur's Seat was played for jurors, and it showed Kashif and Fazia eating dinner, walking through various train stations, and sightseeing in front of various landmarks and buildings in Edinburgh. Along the way, Fazia had her arm linked with Kashif's and she was snapping photos at some of the places they'd visited. In the various CCTV clips of them, you can see that at some points Kashif has Fazia's phone, and other times, she's holding it,

• 36:59Speaker 04

  which I think was a detail that stood out to Yasmin, Fazia's mom, because throughout the day on September 2, she and her daughter had been texting back and forth until the couple departed for their evening walk. But then, later in the evening, when Yasmin messaged Fazia to ask how the sightseeing had gone, she'd never gotten a response. At that time, Yasmin said she figured Fazia was just tired because she was pregnant and traveling. But of course, only hours later, she'd learned the real truth. In my opinion, the most compelling part of the trial was when a witness named Sabine Rashid testified for the Crown Prosecution about the contents and records from Fazia's cellphone. Sabine had analyzed the device for Police Scotland

• 37:43Speaker 04

  and discovered that there were several photos of the couple from just moments before Fazia plunged to her death. The images showed her and Kashif posing together at the top of Arthur's Seat, and it seems, at least from those pictures, that all was well between them at that point in time. What wasn't in the phone, though, was any record of it being used to dial 999. However, other numbers had been dialed on the device shortly after the Good Samaritans had called 999 for Kashif. So, if you remember, when Kashif first came across the people who'd helped him after he said Fazia fell, he told one of those folks that both he and Fazia's devices were with his wife at the bottom of the hill.

• 38:27Speaker 04

  However, when he was interviewed by police a few hours later, officers found Fazia's phone on him, but he'd said he'd forgotten he had it. According to Yasmin, he'd also said the reason he didn't have his own device was because he'd lost it at a train station while traveling to Scotland. Now, a Police Scotland investigator told producers for Channel 4's documentary that it was awfully suspicious to them that Kashif claimed he'd forgotten he'd been in possession of Fazia's phone, given the fact that just moments before she allegedly fell, he'd been the one in their photos, holding it up to take selfies at the summit. So yeah, the police found that weird.

• 39:08Speaker 04

  And of course, they also thought it was strange he'd never used it to call for help. But the real kicker came when Sabine Rashid, the analyst, discovered two other numbers had been dialed on the device after Fazia plunged to her death. One of those numbers belonged to Fazia's dad, and the other belonged to Kashif's dad. The first outgoing call went to Fazia's father's number, and it only lasted six seconds. The second call went to Mohamed Anwar, Kashif's father, and that call lasted for one minute. The investigator for Police Scotland, who talked to producers for Channel 4, said that during Kashif's interviews with officers, he never mentioned anything about placing these two calls.

• 39:52Speaker 04

  The investigator's theory is that after Kashif pushed Fazia and got someone else to dial emergency services, he pulled out the only phone that he had on him and likely hit the name in the contacts that was labeled "Dad", hoping to get ahold of his father. But he'd forgotten that the device in his hand was Fazia's phone. So when he dialed "Dad", it rang her father, Mohamed Javed, not his dad, Mohamed Anwar. Which might explain why the call to Fazia's dad was so short. Then, after realizing his mistake, Kashif dialed his own father, and they spoke for one minute. What exactly did they talk about? No one knows. The police investigator who spoke with the documentary

• 40:37Speaker 04

  said he and his colleagues were never able to determine what was said in that conversation or why Kashif called his father in the first place. Yasmin told me that police did supposedly question Kashif's dad about what was said during that one-minute phone call, but all he would say was that his son called him and said he'd slipped. It doesn't appear that Mohamed Anwar was ever pressed for more information or changed his story. But I don't think it was for lack of trying on Police Scotland's part. Because Yasmin told me that, as a whole, the police's investigation of her daughter's murder was as thorough as it could be. So it wasn't one of those situations where the Javeds felt like authorities

• 41:19Speaker 04

  weren't doing enough to get information from the Anwars. It was just an all-around challenging dynamic, given the circumstances. When the trial came to a close, Kashif didn't testify in his own defense, and his lawyer opted not to present any witnesses or evidence to jurors. After the jury deliberated, they found Kashif guilty of Fazia's murder. The judge then sentenced him to life in prison, where he'd be required to serve a minimum of 20 years before he was eligible for parole. During sentencing, the judge stated in part, "From the evidence led, it seems that you sought out a secluded position at the top of a cliff near the summit and waited until darkness fell. And it seemed that no one was around

• 42:04Speaker 04

  before you pushed your wife off the edge. This was intentional murder. The fall inevitably caused numerous serious injuries, which were predictably fatal. You showed no remorse and made no attempts to save her by calling 999. You could have used her phone, which was working and which you retained." Interestingly, Kashif didn't get any extra prison time tacked on for the death of his and Fazia's unborn child. According to Scottish law, a fetus is not technically viewed as a life with individual human rights until it's outside the mother's body. So legally, there was no separate sentence imposed for the unborn baby's death. However, the judge did weigh it

• 42:49Speaker 04

  in setting Kashif's punishment. The prosecution never pushed the issue of honor-based abuse directly at trial. According to Channel 4's coverage of the proceeding, the prosecutor said that he considered putting an expert witness on the stand to testify about what honor-based abuse is and how Fazia was a victim of it. But in the end, he believed it would actually confuse jurors more than help, so it wasn't a topic that he brought up by name during the proceeding. Yasmin also told me that Kashif's parents, specifically his father, were never called to testify, which she was frustrated by, because she learned from police that after the murder, Mohamed Anwar may have been a bit more involved in aiding his son

• 43:33Speaker 04

  and possibly obstructed authorities more than people knew. Yasmin told me that during the investigation, police tried to find Kashif's missing cellphone at the train station he claimed he lost it at on the way to Scotland. However, she claimed that they found CCTV footage of Kashif's dad picking up the device and taking it. Allegedly, when investigators initially asked Mr. Anwar for the phone, he claimed he didn't have it. But then, when police informed him they had him on camera removing it from the train station, he reluctantly admitted he had it and went into his car and retrieved it. Producers for Channel 4's documentary interviewed Kashif's dad briefly on camera for the program, but in the footage they aired,

• 44:18Speaker 04

  he didn't address the phone issue or talk about what his son said to him during that mysterious one-minute phone call after Fazia plunged to her death. He said that, in his eyes, Kashif and Fazia were happy, and he viewed her as his own daughter. He admitted the couple had their ups and downs, but in general, he tried to never get involved in their marriage because he wanted to stay out of their issues. He straight up told the documentary that he never witnessed anything like abuse between the couple. Neither Mohamed Anwar nor his wife Parveen have ever been charged in relation to Fazia's murder. However, Yasmin Javed told me that she does hold them partially responsible because their actions the night Fazia was killed have never made sense to her,

• 45:03Speaker 04

  and they never will. To this day, she says Kashif's parents continue to tell other people that Fazia slipped and fell and that their son is not a murderer, despite the fact that he was convicted and later abandoned an appeal. Yasmin said that not once have Mr. or Mrs. Anwar shown remorse for Fazia's death or offered the Javeds an apology. The reason I titled this episode "The Legacy" is because I believe Fazia Javed's story, her life, her work, the way she impacted those around her, is a legacy, one that her mother and family members continue to show the world. Following her murder, the Javeds created the Fazia Javed Foundation, which gives practical support

• 45:47Speaker 04

  to parents of homicide victims. They do things like donate to families GoFundMe pages when expenses stack up and help in the little ways that make big differences for people in the thick of grief. On the three-year anniversary of the crime, a memorial bench for Fazia was dedicated at Arthur's Seat. Yasmin joined forces with Karma Nirvana to campaign for a statutory definition of honor-based abuse. In April 2026, that definition passed into law in England and Wales as part of the Crime and Policing Act, the first time it's been defined in UK law. And it comes into force later this year. It aims to help authorities recognize when this type of abuse is happening, ways to protect a victim, and processes to follow

• 46:32Speaker 04

  to achieve a successful prosecution. Yasmin is still pressing for Scotland to follow with their own statutory definition. She told me that in addition to that work, she also speaks at events and partners with women's organizations to spread awareness about honor-based abuse. She told me that her daughter's story is helping save lives every day, and Yasmin knows that if Fazia was still alive today, she would be very proud. If you'd like to support or learn more about the Fazia Javed Foundation or the charity Karma Nirvana, please visit their websites, which are listed in the blog post and show notes for this episode. Park Predators is an AudioChuck production. You can view a list of all the source material

• 47:17Speaker 04

  for this episode on our website, parkpredators.com. And you can also follow Park Predators on Instagram, @parkpredators. I think Chuck would approve.

• 47:35Speaker 01

  Sponsored by GSK, the makers of Extenture, Depamocumab ULAA. If your asthma keeps interrupting, it may be time to try something else. Extenture is an ultra-long-acting prescription-maintenance treatment for severe asthma, eosinophilic type, ages 12 and older. It isn't for sudden breathing problems. Extenture is the first and only add-on treatment that can help deliver protection from asthma attacks with two doses a year. Just one dose every six months. That's a lot of time for everything in between. Serious allergic reactions can occur. Get help right away for swelling of face, mouth, tongue, or trouble breathing. Don't change or stop medicines, including steroids, unless told by your doctor. Report if you have a parasitic infection, common cold, sinus infection,

• 48:20Speaker 01

  inflammation in the nose, flu or flulike symptoms, joint pain or sore throat may occur. Carry on with fewer attacks and ask your doctor about Extenture. Learn more at extenture.com or call 1-833-393-3678.

• 48:35Speaker 00

  I just realized I have exactly zero moving supplies.

• 48:38Speaker 03

  First big move?

• 48:39Speaker 00

  Yep.

• 48:39Speaker 03

  Been there. Rented a truck, scrounged up boxes, bribed people with pizza, still lost a chair, strained my back and my friendships.

• 48:47Speaker 00

  So I should hire a pro because I don't know what I'm doing?

• 48:50Speaker 03

  That's why I used Mayflower. Walked me through everything. Had a move coordinator. Real movers.

• 48:55Speaker 00

  That sounds very adult.

• 48:56Speaker 03

  Mayflower made my first big move exciting instead of terrifying.

• 49:00Speaker 00

  Get a free move quote at mayflower.com. Mayflower, with you every step of the way.