A mother who had just visited her premature baby in a neonatal intensive care unit was fatally crushed by a van driven by her on-off boyfriend, a court has heard.
The young mother
Lily Whitehouse, 19, had given birth to a baby in September 2025. The child, whose father is another man, was being cared for in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley. On 5 November 2025 – her partner Mohammed Azim’s 41st birthday – she had visited the baby before Azim picked her up in his Mercedes Sprinter recovery truck. Instead of driving her home, he took her to Old Park Lane in Oldbury, where an argument is believed to have taken place.
Lily’s family described her as “full of light, laughter, and kindness”. Her cousin, Katie, told Wolverhampton Crown Court that the family’s world “collapsed” upon learning of her death, adding that she died in “tragic and horrific circumstances”. The judge, Mr Justice Murray, noted that Lily’s baby has now lost their mother forever.
The couple had an on-off relationship since 2023, when Lily was 17. Azim later claimed he was the only person who supported her after she fell out with her family, and said she was “very needy and dependent” on him. The judge described her as “psychologically vulnerable” but not particularly vulnerable in a general sense.
How the attack unfolded
CCTV footage from a primary school on Old Park Lane captured the moments before the killing. It showed Azim’s vehicle running idle for 16 minutes before Lily got out of the truck. The footage then recorded Azim pursuing her in the vehicle and “nudging or pushing” her along the road. The pair moved out of camera view, and a loud bang was heard as Lily was crushed against a lamppost.
The trial heard that Azim’s Mercedes Sprinter pinned her against the lamppost, possibly with the driver’s door open, causing fatal chest injuries. A Home Office pathologist found she suffered a broken upper arm, fractured ribs, and a lacerated liver – injuries consistent with being crushed. The prosecution argued that Azim deliberately used his truck as a weapon.
Azim denied murder, claiming he accidentally hit Lily while trying to leave after she asked him to stay with her for ten minutes. He said he “panicked” and lied about the hit-and-run. The judge, however, stated that Azim’s decision to kill was spontaneous but that he would have been aware Lily had a baby still in hospital. While the judge could not be sure Azim intended to kill her, he sentenced him on the basis that he intended to cause “really serious harm”.
After a two-week trial, a jury at Wolverhampton Crown Court found Azim guilty of murder by a majority of 10 to two. On Monday, 22 June 2026, he was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 20 years.
The vehicle and cover-up
The vehicle used was a Mercedes Sprinter recovery truck. Azim had previous convictions for possession of cannabis, evasion of duty on tobacco, and battery in 2012. Police have clarified that he is not the same Mohammed Azim who has previous convictions for rape and manslaughter, contrary to online rumours.
After the attack, Azim placed Lily’s body in the cab of his truck and called 999, falsely claiming she had been hit by a passing vehicle. He then drove to Park Street, removed her from the cab, and placed her on the pavement while still on the phone to emergency services. The Crown Prosecution Service said this action lost valuable time during which evidence could have been destroyed. Azim admitted he lied to the police because he “panicked”.
He also claimed he could not have dropped Lily off at her home because “drugs people” were after her. The defence argued that he was “lost” and not in control of himself. The judge rejected the defence, noting that the evidence, particularly the CCTV footage and the 999 call, showed a deliberate act of violence. Azim now begins a life sentence for a murder that torn apart a young family and left a newborn without their mother.
