The tragic story of a gambler turned murderer has surfaced today, after a man snapped and killed his wife after she confronted him about his gambling addiction, which had lost the couple £90,000. The most sobering part of the news is the fact that the attack happened in front of their toddler son, a two year old who Sheikh Islam, 36, abandoned with the body of his mother after killing her.

Rushna Begum was clearly not happy with the way that their ten year marriage was going. The court that heard the tale today were told of the way that their relationship had turned to violence as he continued to gamble away all of their money, despite the fact that they have two sons together. Islam had made death threats to his wife before, and the twenty eight year old had both contacted the police and gone to a domestic violence centre in an effort to get away from Islam after he threatened her with a knife. It was inside their flat in Bromley-By-Bow, East London, that the tragic event finally unfolded, after the argument reached breaking point.

Islam had sold a takeaway shop in East Ham belonging to him as well as a small kiosk, but the profits from these had all gone into casinos in London and the family were a further £30,000 in debt, and were even being taken to court by creditors. Rushna had said to her housing manager that she was “extremely concerned” about her safety and the safety of the two children because of her husband’s violent behaviour, and her worries came true on the 25th of May 2011. The couple started to argue – and Islam claims that his wife said ‘I have broken my promise to you’, which he thought had to mean that she had been unfaithful. He snapped, and stabbed her.

He claims to have thought the child was at nursery, but police found him alone in the flat and crying. He said to police at the scene, “Mummy couldn’t answer the phone because she is sleeping.”