This country is screwed.
Laura Wilson: Rotherham’s First White Victim of an ‘Honour’ Killing at Age 17 — Murdered by Ashtiaq Asghar After Being Failed by the Same Grooming Networks That Abused Her Sister Sarah.
Laura Wilson was just 15 years old when she began dating 16-year-old Ashtiaq Asghar. Their relationship ended after Laura discovered Asghar had been unfaithful.
After the breakup, Laura had a brief relationship with Asghar’s friend, Ishaq “Zac” Hussein, and became pregnant with his daughter.
Later, Laura and Asghar got back together in secret, because Asghar’s family were devout Muslims and the relationship was not acceptable to them.
One night, Laura went to Asghar’s family home and told them she loved Asghar and wanted to marry him.
Asghar reacted with fury, believing Laura had brought shame on his family. He then plotted and carried out her murder.
On 6 October 2010, Asghar lured 17-year-old Laura to a canal in Rotherham, stabbed her more than 40 times, and threw her body into the water.
Ashtiaq Asghar was convicted of her murder and sentenced to 17½ years in prison in 2013.
When Laura was reported missing, the police response was criticised as too slow. Sarah and the family had to organise their own search parties along the canal. It was Sarah who found her sister’s bloody shoe. The delayed reaction added to the family’s trauma and highlighted the systemic failings that left vulnerable girls unprotected in Rotherham.
Note: The phrase “brought shame on his fa
mily” reflects Asghar’s personal belief in this specific case. Views on family honour, relationships, and marriage vary widely across individuals, families, and cultures. It does not represent all Muslims or Muslim families.
Laura was not groomed in the same systematic way as her older sister Sarah Wilson, but she was caught in the toxic environment created by the Rotherham grooming gangs. The authorities’ repeated failure to dismantle those networks left countless girls vulnerable — including Laura.
Sarah Wilson, who survived years of horrific grooming, rape, and trafficking, has spoken powerfully about losing her sister and the institutional betrayal that enabled these horrors.
This tragedy was preventable. It happened in a town where an estimated 1,400 children were sexually exploited between 1997 and 2013, with police and council turning a blind eye for years.
We remember Laura. We honour the victims. We demand real accountability so no more girls are failed.
