SHAKING with terror, Raneem Oudeh rang the police for the fourth time in two hours, warning them her abusive ex was threatening to kill her – but they told her to go home.

By the time she spoke to the police again, Raneem, 22, and 49-year-old mum Khaola Saleem were being stabbed to death by Janbaz Tarin, 21, in front of the very house they had fled to for safety.

The double murder in Solihull in 2018 – which features in Monday’s episode of Killer Britain on Crime+Investigation – shocked the nation and devastated a close-knit family who had sought a safe haven in the UK after fleeing war-torn Syria.

In an exclusive interview, Nour Norris – Khaola’s sister and Raneem’s aunt – tells The Sun the heart was ripped out of their family on what she calls the “dark night”.

“Khaola and Raneem were everything to everybody in the family,” she says. 

“Khaola was the oldest, 12 years older than me, and we all looked up to her as a big sister. We had been close my whole life.

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“She was the heart of the family, and Raneem was blossoming, ready to take the whole world.

“It has been an absolutely horrific time in our life. Not to lose one but to lose two, in the most painful way.”

Raneem was just 19 when she met Tarin at college, and on their first meeting he told her “You’ll be mine.”

He began calling her obsessively, following her and trying to hound her into a relationship, stopping only when she married another man and had a son.

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The marriage broke down after a year, and Tarin came back into her life – to the unease of her family.

“From day one, he was manipulative towards her mentally and physically,” says Nour. 

“She kept a lot from us so by the time we noticed the extent of it, he was controlling her and it was too late into the relationship.”

The couple wed in 2016, and Nour says Khaola was upset before the wedding, knowing her daughter was making a mistake. 

“Khaola didn’t know how to deal with the whole situation and was really worried, but at the time we didn't realise that she was being controlled. Even though she didn't want him she didn't have a choice at that stage,” says Nour. 

“On the day of the marriage, we tried to be happy for her because this was what she wanted, and we thought she was in love with him – but she had hidden the worst side of him.”

In reality, Tarin threatened to harm Raneem and her family if she didn’t marry him, telling her: “The day you leave me is the day I kill you.”

'I think my days are up'

After the wedding Nour says Raneem deliberately distanced herself from the family and her health began to suffer.

Unbeknownst to her family, she was being physically and mentally abused and began suffering from panic attacks and joint pain, even calling an ambulance three times.

After Tarin went back to his native Afghanistan in November 2016, she discovered he had a pregnant wife and two children there.

She finally plucked up the courage to tell her husband it was over – but his threatening behaviour began to escalate.

“He wouldn't take no for an answer and he slept in the car outside the house,” says Nour.

“Then he actually cut his hand and sent the picture to me, to show Raneem.

“After that she cut us out of the picture. We thought she felt sorry for him and was trying to sort her problems out. But she was scared and, in reality, she was trying to protect us.”

Living in the marital home with her two-year-old son, Raneem was in a dangerous situation and Tarin was constantly at her door, even being chased away by neighbours after attacking her.

Police were called several times but she refused to press charges – although she told her aunt: “I think my days are up soon. I think he’s going to kill me.”

Horrific scene

At her mother’s suggestion, Raneem took out a non-molestation order against Tarin, meaning he couldn’t come near her or contact her directly, but he ignored it.

In the summer of 2018, she moved back to her mum’s – and on August 26th, the pair spent the day shopping before spending the evening in a Shisha bar in Birmingham.

Tarin followed them to the cafe, where he attacked Khaola, slapping her, before grabbing Raneem’s phone and threatening to kill her – in front of a crowd of customers – before being thrown out.

Over the next two hours, Raneem called the police four times – including once from outside the cafe where she told them she was terrified her husband would kill her.

Advised to go back to her mother’s house, she called them again as she crossed the lawn to her front door – dissolving into terrified screams as Tarin jumped out from the bushes and began a frenzied attack with a 12 inch knife.

When Khaola stepped in to protect her daughter, she was stabbed to death.

Shockingly the attack was witnessed by Khaola’s youngest daughter, who was just 15 at the time.

“My niece was babysitting and was putting Raneem’s baby to sleep when she heard screaming, and she opened the window,” says Nour. 

“She couldn't see much because it was quite dark outside but it didn't take her long to realise that Raneem was being attacked and dragged across the grass.

“She told her father and he called me. Within five to 10 minutes I was there and witnessed the whole horrific scene.

“I was distraught. It was bad enough to hear Raneem had been attacked, but when I got there I saw Khaola as well and I lost it. It didn't take me long to realise they had both gone.”

'He broke us'

After a three day manhunt, Tarin was found hiding in the store room of a Birmingham corner shop.

In December 2018 he was sentenced to life with a minimum tariff of 32 years.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct have completed an investigation into claims that West Midland Police missed opportunities to save the two women, but were unable to comment before the official inquest, expected later this year.

But Nour says lessons need to be learned.

"Police were called on many occasions to Raneem’s house, but they did not pick up on anything,” she says  “If someone's being controlled and is very scared, they will not speak. So police officers need to be trained to notice and see the signs. 

“Police have implemented a few changes which is great, but more work needs to be done because cases are rising.

“What really hurts us the most is knowing they had a chance to live.

“It’s bad enough to lose a loved one through homicide, but thinking of them being left waiting in the dark, knowing he's going to end their life, is incredibly hurtful.”

Nour, who has helped raise Raneem’s son along with his dad, has coped with the sickening tragedy by throwing herself into learning about and campaigning for awareness of domestic abuse.

Now a trained counsellor, having put her fashion business aside, Nour supports other families bereaved by murder. 

“They were the soul of everybody,” she says. “Losing them is one thing. But being gone in the way they did, it's another. By one particular single man who thought that their lives should be his, and because he can't have them, they have to go. 

“He broke us all apart really. I can't explain to you the pain we live every day.”

Killer Britain with Dermot Murnaghan is on Crime+Investigation on March 21st at 9pm.

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