The case of Fazia Javed’s death on Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh is a tragic example of honor-based domestic abuse culminating in intentional murder. Fazia, a passionate and compassionate woman, was married to Keshif, who subjected her to years of psychological, verbal, and financial abuse. Evidence—including phone records, CCTV footage, and audio recordings—reveals a pattern of control, threats, and escalating hostility, including an incident where Keshif physically attacked her. On September 2, 2021, during a hike, Keshif claimed Fazia had slipped and fallen, but he was in possession of her phone and failed to call emergency services. Phone records show he dialed both Fazia’s and his own father’s numbers after the fall, suggesting an attempt to cover up his actions. A jury found him guilty of murder in 2023, sentencing him to life in prison with a minimum of 20 years. Though Scottish law does not treat a fetus as a separate legal life, the judge considered the death of Fazia’s unborn child in sentencing. The case led to significant policy change, with honor-based abuse being formally defined in UK law in 2026. Fazia’s parents founded the Fazia Javed Foundation to support victims, and continue to advocate for awareness and legal reform. Despite the conviction, Keshif’s family remains defiant in denying abuse and refusing to acknowledge responsibility, highlighting deep systemic challenges in addressing cultural abuse under the guise of tradition. The story stands as a powerful legacy of resilience, justice, and advocacy.
Hi, Park enthusiasts. I'm your host, Dilya DeAmbra, and the case I'm going to tell you about today takes place in Hollywood Park in Edinburgh, Scotland. It's another case that came through the Park Predators online case submission form, and the moment I started reading about it, I knew it was exactly the type of story that I wanted to feature on this show's platform. The victim, her amazing family, the advocacy work they're doing in her honor, it's all so important because literally more lives are being saved even in the shadow of their great loss. A noteworthy detail about the circumstances of this crime have to do with the makeup of the landscape it happened in. Hollywood Park sits in the heart of Edinburgh and features cliffs, rolling hills, and stunning views of the city. One of its most popular attractions is an 823 foot high peak called Arthur's Seed. Some legends say it's named after King Arthur, but other tales suggest it originated from Gaelic culture. Where exactly the name came from is still up for debate, but two undisputed facts about this landmark is that it is the highest part of the park and it was forged from volcanic activity and glaciers, so fire and ice, two powerful but opposing forces. And the same is true about the disposition of the perpetrator in today's story, because in the end it was his fiery anger that culminated in what a Scottish court and many in the United Kingdom say was nothing short of cold blooded murder. This is Park Predator's. Shortly after 815 pm on Thursday, September 2nd, 2021, a woman hiking down from the peak of Arthur's Seed in Edinburgh, Scotland, heard someone behind her yell to try and get her attention. Her natural response to the noise was to look back and see who it was. When she did, she noticed a man behind her standing up the slope a short distance away, and then suddenly the guy broke into a full blown sprint and headed straight toward her. She immediately could tell the man was upset and in a panic. He explained that his wife had just fallen off the side of the summit and he needed help making his way down the trail because he was having a hard time seeing. Now when this was all happening, the sun had already set, so it was fairly dark in the park, especially around the path that these two people were walking on. Because based on what I read about Hollywood Park, this was a rugged landscape. There were no street lights or anything like that to light the way to and from Arthur's Seed. When the woman asked the man where exactly his wife had gone over the edge, he told her he wasn't sure because it had all happened very quickly and he wasn't familiar with the area. Unfortunately, this hiker's cell phone had died during her walk, so she wasn't able to call 999, which is the United Kingdom's emergency services number similar to what 911 is in the United States. And the guy claimed that he and his wife's devices were with his wife down the peak, so as far as calling for help, they weren't able to. After that, the witness heard the man begin panically shouting his wife's name, Fazia, so she began hollering the name too. And together, they kept yelling it over and over again, but they didn't get a response. As the seconds ticked by, the hiker could see that the man was growing more and more upset. He then blurted out that his wife was pregnant, which the hiker was stunned by because she would later testify that in her opinion, such an important piece of information would have been something most people disclosed at the star. Yet this guy hadn't. But in the moment, she didn't seem to dwell on it. It was just another concerning detail that made the urgency of the situation that much higher. Around 9 p.m. as they continued to yell Fazia's name, two other hikers came across their path, one of whom was a man who did have a working cell phone, and he quickly dialed 999. Audio from that call was played in a channel for documentary about this case, titled The Push, Murder on the Cliff. And you can hear the second witness tell dispatchers that there was a man on Arthur's seat who needed to report that his wife had fallen. The caller also disclosed that he'd personally heard someone scream shortly before the panicked guy rushed over to ask for help. Meanwhile, the woman who'd first encountered the husband left him with the people who'd put him in touch with dispatchers, and she headed back up the summit to try and locate the guy's wife. On her way though, she realized that the man was trying to follow her, but he couldn't get very far because he'd kept slipping on the terrain. She would later testify that he was wearing converse brand sneakers at the time, which seemed to be what was causing him to slip. But interestingly, she was actually wearing the same brand shoe. However, she wasn't slipping like he was. Eventually, the husband returned to the people who'd called 999 for him, and got on the phone with ambulance dispatchers, who wanted to ask him some questions. Audio from that part of the call was also played in the channel for documentary I mentioned earlier. And in it, the man explains that his wife, Fazia, had fallen into what he described as total darkness after they both slipped on rocks while walking back from the top of Arthur's seat. He said that she'd been hiking slightly in front of him when they both lost their footing. He'd tried to grab her arm, but she'd gone sideways and fallen out of his reach. While he was on the phone explaining all this, the original hiker he'd first encountered, the woman, had made her way down the side of the summit and come across Fazia, who was badly injured, but still alive. As soon as the witness found her, she shouted up the hill to let Fazia's husband know she located her, to which the husband responded by asking, quote, "Is she bleeding? Is she bleeding? Is she alive?" end quote. You can actually hear this exchange in the audio from the emergency services call. It's honestly kind of wild how all of this was captured in real time, even though it was pitch black and there was so much going on. An exchange that wasn't recorded though, at least not digitally, was a verbal interaction between the hiker who was tending to Fazia and Fazia herself as she lay crumpled on the side of the hill. According to that witness, Fazia had heard her husband ask, "Is she bleeding? Is she bleeding? Is she alive?" And she'd told the good Samaritan to not let her husband come near her because she had not fallen. He'd pushed her off the cliff, which of course was a statement that stunned the witness, and she wanted to make sure she'd heard Fazia correctly, so she asked, "He pushed you?" to which Fazia replied, quote, "I think so. I can't remember," end quote. She went on to explain that her phone was still with her husband, Keshif, because he'd taken it away from her after she'd tried to break up with him during their hike. She also explained that that was the reason he'd pushed her, because she'd informed him she wanted to end their marriage. Not too long after Fazia was located, a constable from police Scotland arrived on scene and made her way to where she and the good Samaritan were. That constable would later testify that the area Fazia was laying in was on a very steep incline and dotted with bushes. It was obvious the young mother was in dire shape because she had a noticeable head injury and was writhing in pain. Not long after the constable got on scene, fire service personnel arrived, but Fazia quickly became unresponsive. The constable administered chess compressions, but sadly, after a while of doing that, it became apparent she wasn't going to survive. And at 10-18 pm, Fazia was officially pronounced deceased. Naturally, one of the first people authorities wanted to speak with about the incident was Keshif. A firefighter who'd come to the scene that night would later testify that he'd encountered the 27-year-old not long after emergency services had been called. And by that point, Keshif seemed calm. According to this firefighter, Keshif told him that while on the summit of Arthur's seat, he and Fazia had stood up to take a selfie together. He claimed that while snapping the photo, he'd slipped and bumped her, which caused her to fall over the edge. However, when questioned by police officers at a police Scotland station shortly after the incident, Keshif provided a slightly different version of events. According to officers who later testified in court and spoke with producers for Channel 4, after being notified that his wife was dead, Keshif voluntarily told police the following information. He said that he and Fazia were visiting Scotland from where they lived in Leeds, England, and the trip was a belated honeymoon of sorts. They'd gotten married about eight months earlier in December 2020. And on the night in question, he said they'd started their getaway in Edinburgh with dinner around six o'clock. And then they took a walk through the city toward Arthur's seat. He said they'd arrived at the landmark shortly after seven o'clock, and it had taken them a while to hike all the way up to the summit. Their goal was to try and catch the sunset, except by the time they got there, the sun had already set, so they just decided to make the best of it and then make their way back down. According to Keshif, it was on their way down that he lost his footing and fallen into his wife, forcing her off balance and over the edge of the summit. He said as she fell, he'd heard her screaming, and then what sounded like a thud after providing this statement.
Kashiv consented to his search of his person, and authorities seized one cell phone from him which belonged to Fazia. His device was never at the scene because, turns out, he'd reportedly lost it at a train station on their way up to Scotland just a day or so earlier. So, throughout their time in Edinburgh, they'd only been using Fazia's device. An investigator with police Scotland told producers with Channel 4 that right away, Hannah's colleagues were suspicious of Kashiv. It was extremely rare for anyone to fall from Arthur's seat. In fact, the worst incident this investigator could think of that had occurred in the park was maybe someone breaking a bone, not plunging over the side of the summit. Still, in order for authorities to prove Kashiv had intentionally shoved his wife, which was gonna be very difficult to do just given the circumstances. They knew they needed to dig much deeper into the couple's marriage and life. They were confident they had at least enough to hold him, but to see the case through to a potential prosecution was gonna require a lot more legwork. So, around 11 pm that night, another police constable tried to take a crack at Kashiv, but this time, he invoked his right not to comment any further. Shortly after that, police charged him with murder and booked him in jail pending his first appearance. A few hours later, around five o'clock in the morning on September 3rd, some four hours away in Leeds, England, Fazia's parents, Yasmin and Muhammad Javed, awoke to a knock on their door. It was the police informing them of their daughter's death. One of Fazia's uncles lived in the same house as Yasmin and Muhammad, and he told producers for Channel 4 that he woke up to just the sound of screaming coming from downstairs. Fazia was Yasmin and Muhammad's only child and their family was very close. Her mom told producers for Channel 4 that Fazia was her entire life. From a young age, she was a talkative, caring, friendly person who was confident in what she stood for and who she wanted to become. For example, when Fazia was just eight years old, her mom said she made up her mind. She wanted to grow up and become a lawyer. And sure enough, after years of being the only person in her family to attend private education, Fazia graduated and became an employment lawyer. One of Fazia's colleagues at the law firm described her to producers for Channel 4's documentary as Charismatic and someone who was impossible not to love. The 31-year-old was also very passionate about humanitarian work and regularly volunteered to help people in need. She and her parents would also take vacations abroad together and the bond that Fazia shared with her mother was extremely strong. In 2019, though, the Javads welcomed a new person into their tight circle, Kashif and War. At the time, he was working as an optical assistant in a store Yasmine bought some glasses from. During that visit, Fazia had been with her and chatted it up with Kashif. After that, they ran into each other again and started hanging out. Initially, Yasmine said that she and her husband thought Kashif made Fazia really happy. He seemed to care a lot about her and came across as a very genuine person. Yasmine explained to me in our interview that being Muslim young people like Fazia and Kashif would not date in the traditional sense where they referred to one another as boyfriend and girlfriend. She said in their culture, when a woman like Fazia had a guy who was interested in her, he would propose and then there would be a period of time where both families would get to know one another. Yasmine said that over the course of Fazia's adult life, she'd actually had several men proposed to her and go through this prospective marriage process. But for one reason or another, those engagements didn't work out, either because the couple lived too far apart or they just weren't compatible. But when Fazia and Kashif met, though, things were different. Their families spent about 16 to 18 months getting to know one another and eventually the couple tied the knot in December 2020. Not long into their marriage, though, red flags started popping up. It concludes that Yasmine had only seen glimpses of during the couple's courting process and nothing about them sat right with her. After Fazia married Kashif, it was a cultural custom that she would move in with him and his parents to help their household. Yasmine told the Anwar's that Fazia could do basic housework and stuff, but they needed to understand something. She was very invested in her career and she would not be a stay-at-home wife 100% of the time. And initially Kashif's parents said they were cool with that. But fairly early into the couple's marriage, it became apparent that was not the case. Yasmine told me in our interview that she and her husband quickly noticed that their son-in-law and his parents behaved differently after Fazia went to live with them. For example, rarely if ever did they allow her to visit them just by herself. Kashif's parents would always be with her. Yasmine said that in general, the Anwar seemed very controlling, especially Kashif. She said that as soon as he and her daughter got married, he stopped letting Fazia speak with her friends or hang out with people by herself. He deactivated her Facebook accounts and he even blocked male family members on her phone. And one of Fazia's uncles who never liked Kashif from the start because he felt he was arrogant and she was out of his league. Told producers for Channel 4's documentary that despite being put off by his niece's new husband, he respected Fazia's choice to marry him. Yasmine and her husband also noticed that Kashif would have outbursts of anger that seemed to come out of nowhere. She told producers for Channel 4 that when they joined the couple to go pick up their wedding bands, they'd gotten back into the car and buckled up. Except Kashif didn't put his seatbelt on. And Fazia advised him that he should because she didn't want to get in trouble for it. According to Yasmine, Kashif just started screaming and cursing at Fazia, which was the side of him they'd never seen before. After that outburst, Yasmine said Kashif then immediately started to apologize profusely and blamed his overreaction on being stressed out about studying for school. Yasmine didn't realize the full extent of Kashif's abuse toward Fazia though until April 30, 2021, just a few months before her murder. That weekend fell on Ramadan, which is the ninth month in the Muslim calendar where followers of Islam pray, fast, and meditate and visit with their families. So in observance of that, Fazia had returned to her parents' home by herself, but Kashif was not happy about it. While on the phone with him, Fazia recorded their calls on her iPad. And this sheer disgust I felt when I listened to that audio, which was eventually played in court and then presented in Channel 4's documentary, is something I can't even put into words. I've had two voice actors read a verbatim exchange from Kashif and Fazia's first call from that day, because I think it's important for you all to hear exactly what he said to her. - In terms of moving forward, what are you gonna do? Are you gonna come back tomorrow like I told you to? - I don't have to answer to that. - This is the last time I'm gonna call you by the way, and if you don't come back tomorrow, I'm not gonna bother with you. I'm going to be very blunt about that. - That's fine. - Your mum and dad want that. Anyway, they want you out my life so they can get a little Fazia back. - Yeah, yeah, cool. - Yeah, that's what you want as well. - Kashif, I'm not coming back tomorrow. - You're not coming back tomorrow. - No, I'm not coming back tomorrow. - No. - Who the fuck do you think you are? - Why are you swearing at me again? - No, no, no. - Kashif, you are incapable of change. - Who are you? Listen to me. I'm not gonna call you again. - That's fine. You said that. I heard that loud and clear. - No, genuinely. You might as well block me as well. Listen, you duff, but I'll swear at you now. Block me, delete all the wedding photos, delete everything. - That's fine. That's fine. - Because that's what you are. You're a disease in everyone's life. So the sooner you're dead, or the sooner you're out of my life, it'll be better. - That last comment made Fazio really upset, but they did speak again later that same day. However, Kashif's verbal abuse seemed to have only gotten worse. - Do I not have a say in how I live my life with you? - No, you can't. We've won, we've won, because you're married now. - Yeah, but can I not have a say? Can I not have an opinion? - You've been a bit, and I've told you. Your husband told you, come back tomorrow. Why the fuck are you not listening? - Look at how you're speaking to me. - Yeah, because I'm pissed off like you aren't I? You've been told to come back tomorrow. Why are you challenging me? - I'm saying that you can't accept that you have a problem and that you need to change. - I will genuinely pull your mom's tongue out her mouth. Next time she says that I need help, you got that from her. - Kash, Kash. - Listen, listen, listen. I am telling you as your husband, you're coming back tomorrow. Get yourself back here tomorrow. Like I've said, stop challenging me because you're not gonna get anywhere in life if you're challenging me, especially with this. You know who do you think you are? You're not a man. Start behaving like a woman. Do not be that British woman. I'm telling you now, it's not gonna work. You're coming back tomorrow because you were told to. - Kash, you're a horrible person. If you love someone, you don't treat them the way that you do. You don't make them feel the way that you make me feel. As soon as you got with me, I was very dominant. I have changed.
changed not one single bit, why the fuck did you decide to ruin my life? You ruined my life. Tell you one thing, you end this and I will ruin yours. Yeah, he already said that to me so many times. We know what Fazia, I mean it. After Fazia shared with her mom that she'd recorded these phone conversations between her and Kashif, Yasmin called the police. During the officer's visit to the Javed's home, one of them turned on her body can, and you can see and hear Fazia and Yasmin detailing to her how long this abuse had been going on, and how concerning Kashif's behaviors were. When the responding officer turned to Fazia and asked her if she'd experienced any other forms of abuse, she said yes, Kashif had previously put a pillow over her face and punched it. Unfortunately though, Fazia was adamant that she didn't want the officer to press charges against her husband. She just wanted the Ramadan phone call incident logged with the police so that there would be an established record for the future. In addition to the verbal abuse, there was also financial abuse on Kashif's part. Either shortly before or after the April 30 phone calls, Fazia told her mom Yasmin that Kashif had logged into her bank account and withdrawn thousands of pounds when she'd threatened to leave him. Which Yasmin said was just another way Kashif enacted abuse and control over Fazia. Making the money was his way of trying to cut off financial resources that would have made it easier for her to leave their marriage. If Yasmin could have had it her way, she would have had Fazia just come home and live with her in Muhammad. But because Fazia had always been an advocate of what was fair and just, she was determined to try and find a way to recoup the large sum of money Kashif had stolen from her. So despite the Ramadan incident and having to phone the police to report Kashif's escalating verbal abuse, Fazia ended up returning to live with the NWARS. In May of that year, worried for her daughter's safety and well-being, Yasmin reached out to a charity called Karma Nirvana, which helps victims and survivors of honor-based abuse. Which, per that organization's website, is a form of domestic abuse that's motivated by an abuser's perception that a person has brought or may bring this honor or shame to themselves, their family, or the community. These abusers believe that you must control an individual to make them behave in certain ways or subscribe to certain beliefs. This type of abuse is not exclusive to a particular cultural tradition or religious practice. It can occur within any community regardless of faith or background. Yasmin told me that with Islamic faith, the best of men are those who are good to their wives. And the act of murder is forbidden. She said that the way murder is viewed in their religion. If you kill one person, it's like you've killed the whole of mankind. In terms of getting a divorce, it's definitely permitted. If a woman isn't happy in her marriage, she can get divorced, period. Yasmin believes that in Kishif's mind and his parents' minds, they saw the couple potentially getting divorced as more condemnable than Fazia being murdered, because in their eyes, getting divorced would have brought more dishonor to the NWARS family. Yasmin referred to this kind of thinking as "worked" and said that in the end, the NWARS were only brought more shame because once news broke that Kishif had been arrested for the murder of his wife, his mugshot was everywhere. And the NWARS received so much unwanted negative attention because of the allegations against him. However, if Kishif and Fazia could have just parted ways and gotten a divorce, things would have been totally different. But unfortunately, that didn't happen, and Fazia and Kishif continued to stay married throughout the summer of 2021. Then, just a few months after the Ramadan incident, something unexpected happened. Fazia announced she was pregnant. Yasmin told me in our interview that her daughter was almost 17 weeks into her pregnancy when she died. Throughout that summer, she and Kishif had gone to doctor's appointments together and had ultrasound images taken. And Yasmin told producers for Channel 4's documentary that Fazia was genuinely excited to be expecting a baby. In fact, initially, she'd reconsidered making her marriage work for the sake of their child. But a lot of her newfound joy quickly faded by mid-August, because despite the fact that they were going to share a child together, Kishif continued abusing Fazia. A NATO Ward infirmary nurse, who would later testify in court, said that in mid-August, she'd been working in Fazia's doctor's office, and overheard Kishif repeatedly call his wife a derogatory name, and say things like he'd wished he'd never married her. This nurse also said that at one point, Kishif stated that if one of them were to die in childbirth, it would be a good thing, because then finally, they would be free from one another. While overhearing him make these statements, the nurse became very concerned about Fazia's safety. And eventually, Yasmin learned about this incident, too. She told producers for Channel 4 that after it happened, she'd asked the endwars to come over to talk about it. But when the two families got together, all she heard from Kishif's dad, who was also named Muhammad, was that he seemed to be more focused on not getting law enforcement involved in the matter, because he had his reputation to worry about. During this conversation with Kishif's parents, Yasmin was kind of stunned, because it didn't seem like either of them had much regard for Fazia's safety. Yasmin had this scary thought. If they were like this in front of her and her husband, how bad must things be for Fazia back at the endwars home? And the answer was, not good. Because as investigators would soon learn, there was video evidence that proved Kishif's father was not only aware of how his son was treating Fazia, but he might have known a lot more than he was saying. Prior to Fazia's murder, there had been a deeply disturbing public incident on a roadway in Leeds that showed authorities all they needed to know about how much Kishif's abuse was escalating physically. Per CCTV footage, which prosecutors would later present in court, Fazia had been walking by herself on the sidewalk when all of a sudden a vehicle swerved off the road and stopped. Kishif got out and physically forced her against the car, and then he violently yanked at her as she tried to resist him. Eventually, Fazia broke free from Kishif and walked off crying and looking extremely upset. Now during this incident, a person had seen what happened and stopped to check on Fazia. This witness asked her if she was going to ring the police, but Fazia told them she didn't want to get law enforcement involved and was just going to keep walking toward her mom's house. But then, just moments later, a different vehicle came into frame and pulled over. The driver was Kishif's father, Muhammad Anwar. He offered Fazia a ride, which she initially declined, but then after a few moments, she either changed her mind or something happened because she got in with him. Then, they drove off together. Immediately following that incident, Yasmin said that Fazia told her she was going to leave Kishif for good, and she'd even gone as far as getting in touch with a divorce lawyer. The only thing holding her up from making big moves in that direction was a wedding party ceremony that the Anwar's were planning to throw the couple as part of a cultural observance where the groom's family does basically another wedding reception but delayed. Yasmin told producers for Channel 4 that Fazia wanted to get that event out of the way so that she'd cause as little damage as possible to everyone on her husband's side of the family. On the heels of that ceremony, the couple was going away to Edinburgh for five days as a honeymoon of sorts. And then according to Yasmin, when Fazia returned to England, she was going to proceed with filing for divorce and come back home to live with them. On Monday, September 6, 2021, four days after Kishif's arrest, he had his first appearance in Edinburgh's Sheriff Court, but he didn't enter a plea, which basically just means he didn't admit or deny the charge against him at that moment, likely so he could have more time to retain an attorney and review the evidence. Because he declined to enter a plea though, he was kept in custody until his next court date. Not much happened between then and the end of the year as far as court proceedings go. In early February 2022, on what would have been Fazia's due date, her loved ones held two different vigils in her and her unborn son's memory. When vigil took place in Leeds and the other in Edinburgh. A few months later, in July 2022, prosecutors announced that they intended to take Kishif to trial in the spring of 2023. At that point, the charges against him had been revised. In addition to murder, he was also accused of behaving in a threatening or abusive manner against his wife on the day of the crime. At a hearing at the High Court in Glasgow, he pleaded not guilty to both offenses, and his trial was scheduled for the following spring. The two-part Channel 4 documentary titled The Push, Murder on the Cliff, chronicles the events leading up to and during this part of the case. And when the proceedings opened in the High Court of Edinburgh in late March 2023, there were two opposing arguments jurors had to consider. The prosecution's case was this.
abuse of partner, assaulted Fazia and intentionally pushed her off Arthur's seat, killing her and her unborn baby. The defense's position, as you'd expect, was the complete opposite. The fall was a tragic accident. Yes, the couple had problems. Yes, Keshif was, as his lawyer put it, an abusive controlling nasty individual, but jurors weren't being asked to find him guilty of those things. They were being asked to find him guilty of murder. Yasmin told me that for her and many members of the Javed family, the trial was grueling. Not only because there was so much media coverage and they were still reeling from the pain of having lost their only child, but because across the aisle, Keshif's parents and friends openly gestured to him in support. Yasmin said they would blow him kisses, give him thumbs up, and wave, which were all things that she was deeply hurt by. In totality, she referred to the trial as "hell on earth." One of the witnesses to take the stand was the man who dialed 999. He testified that prior to encountering Keshif, he'd heard a man and a woman screaming somewhere on the summit of Arthur's seat. However, that was slightly different information than what this witness articulated on the 999 call. In that recording, he stated that he just heard a scream come from the summit. Keshif's defense attorney also grilled this witness about his own knowledge of the summit, to which the witness explained that he was a regular visitor to the area, and even he knew there were craggy cliffs on the steep side of Arthur's seat, which I think was information the defense wanted to elicit from this witness so that jurors could hear from an independent party how it was possible someone could accidentally fall from that landmark. When Yasmin testified, she told the court about how it had always been Fazia's plan to leave Keshif as soon as the trip to Scotland ended. However, defense attorney Ian Duga challenged that narrative by asking the question. If Fazia was so done with Keshif and ready to get out of their abusive marriage, why did she go with him to Edinburgh at all? Why not leave him prior to the trip if things were so bad? Yasmin explained to jurors though that her daughter told her she was just putting on a front with Keshif during their trip to Edinburgh. She was just going through all the motion she had to to keep him happy until she could get home and leave him. In court, CCTV footage of the couple's movements leading up to their hike to Arthur's seat was played for jurors, and it showed Keshif and Fazia eating dinner, walking through various train stations, and sight seeing in front of various landmarks and buildings in Edinburgh. Along the way, Fazia had her arm linked with Keshif since she was snapping photos at some of the places they'd visited. In the various CCTV clips of them, you can see that at some points Keshif has Fazia's phone, and other times she's holding it. Which I think was a detail that stood out to Yasmin, Fazia's mom, because throughout the day on September 2nd, she and her daughter had been texting back and forth until the couple departed for their evening walk. But then, later in the evening, when Yasmin messaged Fazia to ask how the sight seeing had gone, she'd never gotten a response. At that time, Yasmin said she figured Fazia was just tired because she was pregnant and traveling. But of course, only hours later, she'd learn the real truth. In my opinion, the most compelling part of the trial was when a witness named Sabine Rashid testified for the Crown Prosecution about the contents and records from Fazia's cell phone. Sabine had analyzed the device for Police Scotland and discovered that there were several photos of the couple from just moments before Fazia plunged to her death. The images showed her and Keshif posing together at the top of Arthur's seat, and it seems, at least from those pictures, that all was well between them at that point in time. What wasn't in the phone, though, was any record of it being used to dial 999. However, other numbers had been dialed on the device shortly after the good Samaritans had called 999 for Keshif. So, if you remember, when Keshif first came across the people who'd helped him after he said Fazia fell, he told one of those folks that both he and Fazia's devices were with his wife at the bottom of the hill. However, when he was interviewed by police a few hours later, officers found Fazia's phone on him, but he'd said he'd forgotten he had it. According to Yasmin, he'd also said the reason he didn't have his own device was because he'd lost it at a train station while traveling to Scotland. Now, a police Scotland investigator told producers for Channel 4's documentary that it was awfully suspicious to them that Keshif claimed he'd forgotten he'd been in possession of Fazia's phone. Given the fact that just moments before she allegedly fell, he'd been the one in their photos holding it up to take selfies at the summit. So yeah, the police found that weird, and of course, they also thought it was strange he'd never used it to call for help. But the real kicker came when Sabine Rashid, the analyst, discovered two other numbers had been dialed on the device after Fazia plunged to her death. One of those numbers belonged to Fazia's dad, and the other belonged to Keshif's dad. The first outgoing call went to Fazia's father's number, and it only lasted six seconds. The second call went to Muhammad Anwar, Keshif's father, and that call lasted for one minute. The investigator for police Scotland, who talked to producers for Channel 4, said that during Keshif's interviews with officers, he never mentioned anything about placing these two calls. The investigator's theory is that after Keshif pushed Fazia and got someone else to dial emergency services, he pulled out the only phone that he had on him, and likely hit the name in the contacts that was labeled Dad, hoping to get a hold of his father. But he'd forgotten that the device in his hand was Fazia's phone. So when he dialed Dad, it rang her father, Muhammad Javed, not his dad, Muhammad Anwar, which might explain why the call to Fazia's dad was so short. Then, after realizing his mistake, Keshif dialed his own father, and they spoke for one minute. What exactly did they talk about? No one knows. The police investigator who spoke with the documentary said he and his colleagues were never able to determine what was said in that conversation, or why Keshif called his father in the first place. Yasmin told me that police did supposedly question Keshif's dad about what was said during that one minute phone call, but all he would say was that his son called him and said he'd slipped. It doesn't appear that Muhammad Anwar was ever pressed for more information or changed his story. But I don't think it was for lack of trying on police Scotland's part, because Yasmin told me that as a whole, the police's investigation of her daughter's murder was as thorough as it could be. So it wasn't one of those situations where the Javed's felt like authorities weren't doing enough to get information from the Anwar's. It was just an all-around challenging dynamic given the circumstances. When the trial came to a close, Keshif didn't testify in his own defense, and his lawyer opted not to present any witnesses or evidence to jurors. After the jury deliberated, they found Keshif guilty of Fawzi's murder. The judge then sentenced him to life in prison where he'd be required to serve a minimum of 20 years before he was eligible for parole. During sentencing, the judge stated in part, quote, "From the evidence led, it seems that you sought out a secluded position at the top of a cliff near the summit and waited until darkness fell, and it seemed that no one was around before you pushed your wife off the edge. This was intentional murder. The fall inevitably caused numerous serious injuries, which were predictably fatal. You showed no remorse and made no attempts to save her by calling 999. You could have used her phone, which was working and which she retained," end quote. Interestingly, Keshif didn't get any extra prison time tacked on for the death of his in Fawzi's unborn child. According to Scottish law, a fetus is not technically viewed as a life with individual human rights until it's outside the mother's body. So legally, there was no separate sentence imposed for the unborn baby's death. However, the judge did weigh it in setting Keshif's punishment. The prosecution never pushed the issue of honor-based abuse directly at trial. According to Channel 4's coverage of the proceeding, the prosecutor said that he considered putting an expert witness on the stand to testify about what honor-based abuse is, and how Fawzi was a victim of it. But in the end, he believed it would actually confuse jurors more than help, so it wasn't a topic that he brought up by name during the proceeding. Yasmin also told me that Keshif's parents, specifically his father, were never called to testify, which she was frustrated by. Because she learned from police that after the murder, Muhammad Anwar may have been a bit more involved in aiding his son and possibly obstructed authorities more than people knew. Yasmin told me that during the investigation, police tried to find Keshif's missing cell phone at the train station he claimed he lost it at on the way to Scotland. However, she claimed that they found CCTV footage of Keshif's dad picking up the device and taking it. Allegedly, when investigators initially asked Mr. Anwar for the phone, he claimed
he didn't have it. But then, when police informed him, they had him on camera, removing it from the train station. He reluctantly admitted he had it and went into his car and retrieved it. Producers for Channel 4's documentary "Interviewed Kishief's Dad" briefly on camera for the program, but in the footage they aired, he didn't address the phone issue or talk about what his son said to him during that mysterious one-minute phone call after Fazia plunged to her death. He said that in his eyes, Kishief and Fazia were happy and he viewed her as his own daughter. He admitted the couple had their ups and downs, but in general, he tried to never get involved in their marriage because he wanted to stay out of their issues. He straight up told the documentary that he never witnessed anything like abuse between the couple. Neither Muhammad Anwar nor his wife Parvine have ever been charged in relation to Fazia's murder. However, Yasmin Javed told me that she does hold them partially responsible because their actions the night Fazia was killed have never made sense to her and they never will. To this day, she says Kishief's parents continue to tell other people that Fazia slipped and fell and that their son is not a murderer, despite the fact that he was convicted and later abandoned an appeal. Yasmin said that not once have Mr or Mrs. Anwar shown remorse for Fazia's death, or offered the Javed's an apology. The reason I titled this episode "The Legacy" is because I believe Fazia Javed's story, her life, her work, the way she impacted those around her is a legacy. One that her mother and family members continue to show the world. Following her murder, the Javed's created the Fazia Javed Foundation, which gives practical support to parents of homicide victims. They do things like donate to families go fund me pages when expenses stack up and help in the little ways that make big differences for people in the thick of grief. On the three-year anniversary of the crime, a memorial bench for Fazia was dedicated at Arthur's seat. Yasmin joined forces with Carmen Nirvana to campaign for a statutory definition of honor-based abuse. In April 2026, that definition passed into law in England and Wales as part of the Crime and Policing Act. The first time it's been defined in UK law, and it comes into force later this year. It aims to help authorities recognize when this type of abuse is happening, ways to protect a victim, and processes to follow to achieve a successful prosecution. Yasmin is still pressing for Scotland to follow with their own statutory definition. She told me that in addition to that work, she also speaks at events and partners with women's organizations to spread awareness about honor-based abuse. She told me that her daughter's story is helping save lives every day, and Yasmin knows that if Fazia was still alive today, she would be very proud. If you'd like to support or learn more about the Fazia Jawved Foundation or the charity Carmen Nirvana, please visit their websites, which are listed in the blog post and show notes for this episode. Park Predators is an audio-chuck production. You can view a list of all the source material for this episode on our website, parkpredators.com, and you can also follow Park Predators on Instagram @ParkPredators. I think Chuck would approve.
Podcast Summary
Key Points:
A woman hiking on Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh heard her husband shouting for help after claiming his wife, Fazia, had fallen from the cliff, but no one could call emergency services due to darkness and no lighting.
Fazia’s husband, Keshif, initially claimed the fall was accidental, but evidence showed he had been in possession of Fazia’s phone and failed to call 999, despite having the means and opportunity.
Phone records revealed Keshif made two calls after the fall—one to Fazia’s father and one to his own father—suggesting intent to conceal or cover up the incident.
Fazia’s family documented years of verbal and financial abuse, including threats, control over her phone and bank account, and a disturbing incident where Keshif physically forced her against a vehicle.
The prosecution argued Keshif intentionally pushed Fazia off the cliff, while the defense claimed it was an accident, but the jury found him guilty of murder due to premeditated intent and lack of remorse.
A statutory definition of honor-based abuse was introduced in England and Wales in 2026, following Fazia’s case, to better identify and prosecute such abuse.
Fazia’s parents established the Fazia Javed Foundation to support victims’ families and advocate for awareness and policy change.
Despite being convicted, Keshif’s parents denied knowledge of abuse and continue to claim the fall was accidental, showing no remorse or accountability.
Summary:
The case of Fazia Javed’s death on Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh is a tragic example of honor-based domestic abuse culminating in intentional murder. Fazia, a passionate and compassionate woman, was married to Keshif, who subjected her to years of psychological, verbal, and financial abuse. Evidence—including phone records, CCTV footage, and audio recordings—reveals a pattern of control, threats, and escalating hostility, including an incident where Keshif physically attacked her.
On September 2, 2021, during a hike, Keshif claimed Fazia had slipped and fallen, but he was in possession of her phone and failed to call emergency services. Phone records show he dialed both Fazia’s and his own father’s numbers after the fall, suggesting an attempt to cover up his actions. A jury found him guilty of murder in 2023, sentencing him to life in prison with a minimum of 20 years.
Though Scottish law does not treat a fetus as a separate legal life, the judge considered the death of Fazia’s unborn child in sentencing. The case led to significant policy change, with honor-based abuse being formally defined in UK law in 2026. Fazia’s parents founded the Fazia Javed Foundation to support victims, and continue to advocate for awareness and legal reform.
Despite the conviction, Keshif’s family remains defiant in denying abuse and refusing to acknowledge responsibility, highlighting deep systemic challenges in addressing cultural abuse under the guise of tradition. The story stands as a powerful legacy of resilience, justice, and advocacy.
FAQs
Fazia slipped while hiking down from the summit of Arthur's Seat and was pushed off the cliff by her husband, Keshif. She was found injured and later died from her injuries at 10:18 p.m. on September 2, 2021.
Keshif claimed that while taking a selfie at the summit, he slipped and bumped Fazia, causing her to fall. However, this story was inconsistent with evidence and changed when questioned by police.
Yes, police found Fazia’s phone in Keshif’s possession after the incident. The phone showed photos of the couple at the summit and had two outgoing calls shortly after the fall—one to Fazia’s father and one to Keshif’s father—suggesting he may have acted with intent.
The jury found him guilty because the prosecution proved he intentionally pushed Fazia off the cliff, waited in darkness at the summit, and failed to call for help despite having access to her phone, which was working and in his possession.
Fazia’s parents, Yasmin and Muhammad Javed, became advocates for honor-based abuse and founded the Fazia Javed Foundation to support victims of domestic violence. They also campaigned for a legal definition of honor-based abuse in the UK.
No, Keshif’s parents were never charged, and they denied any knowledge of abuse. However, police found CCTV footage showing Keshif’s father picked up and later possessed the missing phone, and they refused to provide details about the one-minute phone call to Keshif’s father.
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