Accountant may have buried his wife ALIVE after bludgeoning and strangling her 'during row over her sexual demands' – because he wanted to make a move on her sister
- Ahmed Seedat, 37, murdered his wife Fahima Yusuf, 32, on August 31, 2018
- Ms Yusuf's body was found dead in a shallow grave in their backyard home
- He had planned to kill the mother-of-two six weeks before her body was found
- The accountant made online searches including how to bury a person alive
An accountant who murdered his wife may have buried her alive, a court heard.
Ahmed Dawood Seedat, 37, beat his wife Fahima Yusuf with a wheel brace and strangled her to death at their home in Carlisle, Perth, last August.
Seedat had been planning to kill the 32-year-old for six weeks so he could make a move on her sister who was unaware of his plot, according to prosecutors.
During his 'clumsy' planning, he made online searches including 'can you marry your brother-in-law if sister dead Muslim'.
He also searched 'burying someone aliv [sic]' and 'cremating a body', the Perth Supreme Court heard during his sentencing hearing on Wednesday.
Ahmed Dawood Seedat (left) made 'disturbing' online searches including how to bury a person alive before he murdered his wife Fahima Yusuf (right)
Ms Yusuf's body was found in a shallow grave in their backyard four days after her murder
Police found Ms Yusuf's body in a shallow grave in their backyard next to the laundry door, four days after she was murdered.
The hole was dug by a contractor, who was told it was to install a pool for the children, the court heard.
Prosecutors said they did not know if she was buried dead or alive.
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Seedat's lawyer Bernard Standish told the court that Seedat had lost attraction for his wife and that he could no longer meet her 'sexual demands'.
Seedat claimed to police officers on the night of the murder that he killed her because she tried to come on to him, the court heard.
Prosecutor Nicholas Cogan said Seedat had intended to pursue a relationship with his sister-in-law, as evidenced in the tone of his numerous text messages to her.
Seedat had texted his sister-in-law saying his wife had 'left' and told her to come to his home to console him, the court heard.
Ms Yusuf's sister viewed Seedat as a brother according to her victim impact statement.
The court heard Seedat's sister-in-law was not attracted to him or involved in the crime.
The hole was dug by a contractor, who was told it was to install a pool for the children, the court heard (pictured: Mr Seedat and Ms Yusuf's backyard which was put up for sale)
Ms Yusuf's cause of death remains unknown but she had bruising and lacerations to her scalp, which Seedat said was inflicted with a tyre lever.
He later said he strangled Ms Yusuf.
She had sand in her mouth, but not in her airways.
Seedat repeatedly lied to explain Ms Yusuf's absence, telling neighbours she had gone to the UK for eye surgery and telling her sister she had left him.
He even asked a friend to call Ms Yusuf's interstate father and impersonate a police officer.
Ms Yusuf (pictured left) and Seedat (pictured right) lived in Carlisle, a Perth suburb, with their two children aged two and five
Mr Cogan said there was no evidence Seedat wanted to leave the marriage but killed his wife because he had lost interest in her.
He said she died as a result of Seedat's 'brutal and sustained actions' but it was not known whether she was still alive when she was buried.
He said there was no evidence Ms Yusuf had intentions to leave her husband.
Defence counsel Bernard Standish conceded the murder was premeditated and said his client was ashamed.
'There is not a day that goes by that he does not think about what he has done,' he said.
Justice Bruno Fiannaca will sentence Seedat on May 27.
Piles of soil were dug up in the backyard of the home as part of the extensive police investigation
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