Unsolved Bradford Murders PT1

There was a major spread this week in the local paper about there being 30 unsolved murders in the whole Bradford district over the last 40 years.  These are subjected to periodical reviews by West Yorkshire`s Major Review Team, and with the advances in forensics, here is hoping the perpetrators will be brought to justice.  I will present four cases on this first posting.  The first case is that of Parvez Akhtar.  The 25 year old  owner of a restaurant, the Mehraan Restaurant, situated in Duckworth lane, in the Girlington district, was found in the back of his car.  A young boy saw him sprawled on the rear seat, in Fairbank Road, Girlington.  Mr Akhtar had his throat slashed and had also been strangled.  This was on 12th January 1986.  He had earlier that day been taking staff home.

    The second unsolved murder is that of 46 year old James Adams.  On 26th May 1981, he was stabbed 22 times in a public toilet.  The assailant wore spectacles and left a trail of his own blood for a mile.  The toilets were situated off Carlisle Road, and Mr Adams was on his way home after working as a barman at the New Beehive pub in Westgate.  Hopefully, there was preservation of some of the killer`s blood, as somebody capable of that level of violence, would surely be in and out of trouble and hopefully his DNA is somewhere in the system.  Also, would it not arouse suspicion in people if a bespectacled man had a nasty wound, probably to his hand, and leaving such a trail of blood, after the murder?  This would leave to speculation that he has been shielded.

    Next is the murder of Mohammed Basharat.  This seems such a senseless act for what may have been a road rage incident.  It was on 20th October 2001, when a  man burst into the offices of Little Horton Taxis, shooting Mr Basharat twice in the head.  The 33 year old from the Heaton area died instantly.  The hooded killer then made a speedy exit.  Then it was ten years down the line that information was given to Police about a man serving a long jail sentence in the USA, in 2011, but as of the present, no more is known.

     The last case is that of postman Michael Towler, 57.  He was murdered in a savage assault in his home in August 1992, in Horton Bank Top.  He was stabbed in what was described as a frenzied attack.  By the following year, the Police had interviewed over 900 people and taken over 200 statements.  However, they have not been able to gather enough evidence to make any arrests for the murder.  As always, if anybody should know anything, then just pick up the phone and call it in.