A man murdered a young mother by pinning her against a lamppost with his truck during an argument on his birthday, after she had visited her baby in hospital, a court has heard.
Mohammed Azim is alleged to have killed his 19-year-old girlfriend Lily Whitehouse in Oldbury on Bonfire Night last year – his 41st birthday, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.
Azim, a recovery truck driver who was assisted in the dock by a Mirpuri interpreter but speaks “reasonably good” English, denies murdering Ms Whitehouse by crushing her against a lamppost in Old Park Lane with his Mercedes Sprinter vehicle, causing fatal injuries.
The defendant, who wore a navy suit with a pale blue shirt, showed no reaction in the dock while members of Ms Whitehouse’s family wiped tears in the public gallery as prosecution counsel Rachel Brand KC outlined their case.
Ms Brand said Ms Whitehouse had been visiting her baby, who was fathered by another man and was born in September 2025, in the neonatal intensive care unit at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley on the evening she was killed.
Azim, of Tividale Road in Tipton, and Ms Whitehouse had been in an on-off relationship since 2023. The defendant, who had previously been married but was divorced, had picked her up after she got off a bus from the hospital. Instead of driving the victim to her home in Amber Drive, Oldbury, Azim drove past her address and to Old Park Lane.
Ms Brand told the jury: “One of the things you will have to consider is why the defendant did that – why did he drive past if he was giving her a lift home, why not drop her off? We say the likelihood is the two were having an argument and that explains why he drove past the road where she lived.”
CCTV from a nearby school captured the sound of Azim’s recovery truck idling for around 16 minutes before the truck comes into view and Ms Whitehouse is seen walking quickly along the road on the driver’s side. “The defendant is driving the truck as if he was nudging or pushing her along the road,” Ms Brand told the court. “Lily started running, the vehicle is pursuing her at a low speed but, nevertheless, we say he was clearly using that large, heavy vehicle as a weapon.”
As the truck goes out of view, a “large bang” is heard on the CCTV, which the prosecution suggest was the truck striking a lamppost. She said: “We believe she was crushed against a lamppost, perhaps with the driver’s door of the truck open at the time.”
A Home Office pathologist found Ms Whitehouse had suffered injuries predominantly to her right side while in an upright position, including a broken upper arm, fractured ribs, a laceration to her liver, and traumatic injuries to her chest, which caused “severe bleeding” and led to her death.
After Ms Whitehouse was injured, Azim is alleged to have picked her up and put her in his truck while dialling 999 and claiming he had seen her being hit by a vehicle that did not stop at the scene. Stopping his truck in nearby Park Street and putting Ms Whitehouse on the pavement, he was “agitated” when police and paramedics arrived. “He told them they took too long to arrive, and that she was gone. When police spoke to him he gave a detailed description about what happened, said he’d seen it happen and wished he had been able to chase the vehicle.”
Paramedics and doctors did all they could to try and save Lily but she was pronounced dead on the pavement. Police thought the defendant’s account was odd. He admitted he knew Ms Whitehouse and it seemed to be a strange coincidence that he witnessed a hit and run with someone known to him. He was arrested on suspicion of murder. In interview, he answered no comment to most questions about his relationship with Lily and how she came by her death.
Ms Brand added: “The defendant may try to suggest she fell to the ground and he accidentally ran her over. We suggest that cannot be true considering the loud banging noise that is heard. That is the truck impacting with something hard, not the sound of a truck hitting a slightly built woman who was 5ft 3in and less than seven stone. We say it is highly significant that the defendant chose to pick up Lily Whitehouse and put her in his truck. Instead of simply calling the emergency services to come to the place where she was injured, he wanted to distance himself and her from the place it happened.”
To prove murder, the prosecution must satisfy the jury that when the defendant caused those fatal injuries, he either intended to kill her or at the very least intended to cause her very serious injury. Ms Brand said: “We say you will be sure the defendant is guilty of murder. Any person who deliberately drives a large, heavy truck at a person and either pins them up against a lamppost or runs them over can only have intended to cause at least really serious harm. Actions speak louder than words, we say. Regretting it afterwards is not a defence.”
The trial, which is expected to last two weeks in front of High Court judge Mr Justice Murray, continues.
