Pizzeria owner husband guilty of murdering wife who he dumped in unmarked grave

Zobaidah Salangy lay undiscovered for more than six months despite extensive police searches.

Zobaidah Salangy, who was buried in an unmarked grave. (West Mercia Police/PA)

A pizza shop owner has been convicted of murdering his wife and leaving her in an unmarked grave – which went undiscovered by police for more than six months, despite extensive searches.

Nezam Salangy, 44, was found guilty at Worcester Crown Court of killing his spouse of eight years Zobaidah Salangy, on March 28 2020, then burying her in woodland near Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, under the cover of darkness.

Salangy’s younger brothers; Mohammed Yasin, 34, and 31-year-old Mohammed Ramin Salangy – who worked in another pizza shop, were also convicted alongside their older brother of helping him to cover up the crime.

Ramin travelled 90 miles by cab from his and Yasin’s home in Adamscroft Place, Cardiff, Wales, to help bury the victim.

Salangy, of Talbot Road, Bromsgrove, later reported his wife missing to police, telling them “she had gone out for a run and never come back”, after leaving him for a “new boyfriend”, prosecutors said.

Opening the Crown’s case, at the start of the six-week trial, Simon Denison QC said it was an “unfortunate fact” of the case Mrs Salangy’s body was initially missed by police, when a first dig at the site near the Worcestershire village of Lower Bentley took place in April 2020.

None of the men showed any reaction as the verdicts were read, but as he left the dock in the care of security guards, Nezam Salangy stared at several West Mercia Police detectives who had conducted the investigation, telling them “you guys framed me”.