Harlow house fire murders remain unsolved as father fears he will die waiting
The 2012 deaths of Dr Sabah Usmani and her five children in Harlow have been declared a cold case. Father Abdul Shakoor says he fears he will not live to see justice.
Harlow house fire murders declared cold case after 13 years
The suspected murder of a mother and her five children in a house fire in Harlow has been classified as a cold case, bbc.co.uk has learned.
Dr Sabah Usmani and her children — Hira, 12, Sohaib, 11, Muneeb, nine, Rayyan, six, and Maheen, three — died in the blaze at the family home in Barn Mead in the early hours of 15 October 2012.
Essex Police say there are no longer any viable lines of inquiry to actively pursue, though detectives will "continue to assess any new information" that emerges.
The sole survivor that night, the children's father Dr Abdul Shakoor, an endocrinologist, says he fears he will not live long enough to see the case resolved.
"Who knows in 10 years whether I will be here," Shakoor told the BBC. "I don't know whether I'll be alive at that time."
He described the development as "very disappointing" but acknowledged the effort investigators had put in. "I know that Essex Police have done a really great job and I still feel that they would like to resolve this case as a top priority," he said. "It is the matter of the six lives lost, all innocent. In one night, everything was taken away from me."
Unless new information comes to light, Essex Police have told Shakoor the case will next be formally reviewed in ten years.
No charges after more than a decade
The family were asleep when fire broke out in the early hours and rapidly engulfed their home. Shakoor fled the blaze in an attempt to raise the alarm and save his wife and children. At the same time, a neighbour's silver Ford Focus was set alight nearby — a detail that has long pointed investigators towards arson.
Police launched Operation Shakespeare in the aftermath, and a number of arrests were made, but no one has ever been charged or brought to court in connection with the deaths.
Cold case status means police no longer pursue the inquiry day-to-day. It does not mean the case is formally closed.
Anonymous letter raises fresh hopes
In July 2025, an anonymous handwritten letter arrived at Harlow police station, posted weeks after a BBC podcast examining the case was broadcast. Det Ch Insp Louise Metcalfe described it as "clearly" written by someone who wanted to help progress the inquiry.
"They reference the 'nightmare' of having information but not feeling able to share it," Metcalfe said. Forensic analysis was unable to identify the author, and Metcalfe declined to disclose further details from the letter, though she urged the writer to come forward directly.
Shakoor made a personal appeal to the mystery correspondent. "You have made a very courageous first step," he said. "You came forward, and really, really, I feel it's my belief that you will come forward again. This is the really only thing which can help us resolve this case."
Police vow to pursue new leads
An Essex Police spokesperson said the force remained "determined to establish the truth about what happened and hold the person or people responsible to account," adding that Dr Shakoor had been informed that any new information provided would continue to be assessed.
Anyone with information about the deaths in Barn Mead can contact Essex Police directly.
Source: Google News UK — Crime (en)