'Burn in hell, you're evil.' Widow of killed Pizza Hut delivery driver from Peterborough screams at man who punched him

The widow of a Pizza Hut delivery driver killed in a botched robbery of three pizzas screamed 'you're evil' as the man who punched her husband gave evidence.
Ali QasemiAli Qasemi
Ali Qasemi

Father-of-two Ali Qasemi, whose wife Fawzia was pregnant with their third child, was delivering three pizzas costing just over £50, Peterborough Crown Court heard.

Unbeknown to him, the caller had provided a false address and was planning to snatch the pizzas and run off without paying, the jury heard.

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He hit his head on the pavement after the one-punch attack and died two days later, the court heard.

Joel Lawson (25) admitted manslaughter and robbery at the start of the trial.

Co-defendant Mark Lintott (29) denies the same charges.

Lawson, whose address was given as HMP Peterborough, told the court the group of friends had been drinking lager and using cocaine at Lintott’s flat in Shrewsbury Court, Peterborough, for most of the Saturday.

Lintott said he was hungry, pulled some food menus out of a drawer and phoned Pizza Hut in the early hours of Sunday, May 8, Lawson said.

“He asked if anyone wanted to chip in,” said Lawson.

“They said they didn’t fancy no food.

“He didn’t mention nothing about paying for it.

“He said he was going to snatch it and run off with it.”

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Lawson described people in the flat laughing as Lintott phoned in the takeaway order, and said Lintott asked him to come outside as “back-up” in case the delivery man had someone else with him.

Lintott provided a house number in his street that did not exist “so there was no comeback to his address,” Lawson said.

He said he saw the delivery man, 45-year-old Mr Qasemi, standing by his car facing away from them.

They were “giggling” and Lintott was “telling (him) to shush” as they approached Mr Qasemi together, the court heard.

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“Just as we met him he turned around and I threw a punch,” Lawson said.

Mr Qasemi’s widow, who wept through much of the hearing, screamed at Lawson as he described the punch, with Lintott in the secure dock at the back of the court.

“Why you did that?” she yelled.

“You evil people.

“You don’t deserve to be a father.

“Burn in hell, you’re evil.”

She was escorted out of the court and offered tissues.

Lawson said Lintott had taken the pizzas back to the flat as Mr Qasemi was on the floor, following a single punch to his face which caused him to fall backwards.

He said he got back to the flat just before Lintott.

“Everyone was sort of laughing at the time,” he said.

“Someone said ‘I can’t believe you’ve done it’.

“He (Lintott) said ‘he banged him’ or ‘he dropped him’ or something like that.”

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Asked why he was giving evidence, Lawson said: “I’m responsible and the family deserve a bit of justice.

“I made a huge mistake and this is the only thing I thought I could do to right that wrong.

“I know it’s not a lot, but it’s all I could do being in prison and everything else.”

Lawson said he had planned to take his partner and children to the beach at Great Yarmouth on the Saturday but went on a binge in Peterborough instead when Lintott called him on the Friday.

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The prosecution say that although Lawson threw the punch, both he and Lintott were “equally responsible” as they hatched the plan together.

Lawson said he had previously seen Lintott jump out of a taxi and run off without paying and fight with friends and nephews.

The trial continues.