04/09/2006

Man in court over family murder

A man has appeared in court charged with the murders of his wife and their three children.

Rahan Arshad, 36, is accused of murdering his wife, Uzma Rahan, 32, and the couple's two sons - Adam, 11 and Abbas, eight - and their six-year-old daughter, Henna.

The bodies of Mrs Rahan, who was born in Pakistan, and the children were discovered at their home in Cheadle Hulme, Greater Manchester on August 20. Post-mortems revealed that all four had died from serious head injuries.

Police believe that they family may have been dead for up to four weeks before the bodies were discovered.

Mr Arshad was arrested on Friday morning after he arrived at Heathrow airport on a flight from Bangkok.

Appearing at Stockport Magistrates' Court on Monday, Mr Arshad was remanded in custody to appear at Manchester Crown Court on September 11.

Two other people - a 40-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman, both from Burnage - were also arrested in connection with the murders earlier this month. They were later released on police bail.

(KMcA/SP)

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