The brutal murder of a mother and her teenage daughter in Dhaka’s Mohammadpur has taken a grim turn with the housemaid at the centre of the case giving a confessional statement before a court.
Housemaid Ayesha Akhter, arrested in connection with the killing of Layla Afroz, 48, and her daughter Nafisa Binte Aziz, 15, confessed to her involvement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) on Wednesday.
The statement was recorded by Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Jashita Islam after the completion of Ayesha’s six-day remand. She was subsequently sent to jail.
Earlier, on Monday, Ayesha’s husband Rabbi had also made a confessional statement before a magistrate.
His statement was recorded by Metropolitan Magistrate Ripon Hossain, further tightening the net around the accused couple.
The crime sent shockwaves through the capital after the bodies of Layla Afroz and her school-going daughter were discovered at their Mohammadpur residence.
Layla’s husband, AZM Azizul Islam, a schoolteacher, found the bodies after returning home and immediately alerted the authorities. Later that night, he filed a murder case with Mohammadpur Police Station.
Investigators revealed that Ayesha had been employed at the flat for only four days before the killings. Despite the brief tenure, her behaviour soon drew suspicion.
CCTV footage from the apartment complex showed her leaving the building wearing Nafisa’s school uniform and a face mask, a detail that became a crucial breakthrough in the investigation.
Following the trail, police arrested Ayesha on December 10 during a drive in Nalchiti upazila of Jhalakathi, where she had gone into hiding. Her husband Rabbi was arrested alongside her from his grandmother’s house.
The case has raised serious concerns over domestic security and the vulnerability of households, particularly in urban settings where domestic help is often hired on short notice and with limited background verification.
With both accused now behind bars and confessional statements on record, the investigation is moving into its next phase as law-enforcers work to piece together the full sequence of events behind one of the most disturbing crimes in recent memory.