An Iraqi migrant, Ayad A., is accused of murdering his 37-year-old mother of seven, Laila A., whose children are aged six to 16, on May 12, which also happened to be the same date as their 16th wedding anniversary.
The event, which occurred in the middle of a residential area in Varel, Lower Saxony, is being prosecuted as malicious murder. The last words a witness heard Laila’s eldest daughter say were: “Daddy’s just left.” Seconds later, Laila was dead.
The marriage was deeply troubled. After 16 years, Laila separated from Ayad in April 2025 following a complaint that he had beaten and strangled her. He was under a restraining order that forbade him from approaching his wife. Despite this, he suddenly appeared, and a witness reported that an argument ensued.
The final, fatal moments saw Laila walking home before her husband rapidly approached in an Opel Meriva. Though it was a 30 km/h zone, he was recorded driving at 71 km/h (44 miles per hour). The car struck Laila with full force, throwing her onto the hood before her head smashed against the windshield. She died at the scene.
Ayad A. is also said to have dragged his lifeless wife’s body behind the nearby construction fence before first responders arrived.
The husband’s defense is already in question.
In court, Ayad A. pleaded not guilty to intentional murder, having his statement read out for him due to his limited German.
The statement read: “I didn’t intentionally run her over. I was coming home from work, I was tired, and I was taking pills. I dropped my cell phone; I probably accidentally stepped on the gas. I was driving at a normal speed.”
His claims stand in sharp contrast to the investigative findings so far, which show his sharply elevated speed during the impact.
Evidence of prior abuse was also heard in court.
A neighbor told BILD: “There was a lot of violence in the marriage. I saw Laila being pushed out of the window by him.”
Worse, two days before the crime, Ayad A. allegedly threatened the children: “I’ll kill your mother and your big sister.”
Laila’s sister, Lamia, is a co-plaintiff and sat weeping in the courtroom, where the judge told her: “Take care of yourself. You can leave the room at any time.” Lamia has moved from Stuttgart to Varel to care for the seven orphaned children.
She told Bild newspaper about the situation: “None of us are well. The little ones cry a lot; they miss their mom every day. It’s a catastrophe.”
The trial will resume on November 4, with Ayad A. facing life imprisonment.
Remix News has reported on a wave of femicide involving foreigners in Europe in recent years.
A Swiss-Tunisian scholar and political Islam activist, Saïda Keller-Messahli, addressed the topic earlier this year. After Switzerland reported a surge in domestic murders, with 15 femicides recorded in the first half of 2025, she wrote in a commentary for the Neue Zürcher Zeitung that offenders disproportionately often come from Muslim countries and that the role of Islam in shaping attitudes toward women must be openly acknowledged.
“Reports of men killing their wives, ex-partners, or daughters because they don’t behave as they wish are increasing,” she noted.
She cited research by forensic scientist Frank Urbaniok showing that Afghans are reported for serious violent crimes five times more often than Swiss citizens, Moroccans eight times more often, and Tunisians nine times more often.
“The disproportionate crime rate has a lot to do with cultural influences. It is about how violence is dealt with, the image of women, or the role of the rule of law in these countries,” Urbaniok told the same newspaper in April.
