Family of Solihull murder victims hope "Raneem's Law" will save lives

Raneem Oudeh and her mother Khaola Saleem were killed by Raneem's ex-partner Janbaz Tarin in 2018.

Raneem Oudeh and her mother Khaola Saleem
Author: Kellie MaddoxPublished 1st Mar 2024

The family of a young woman, who was brutally murdered by her ex-partner in Solihull, hope a new law will stop others losing their life to domestic violence.

Raneem Oudeh, 22, and her mother Khaola Saleem were stabbed to death in August 2018 by Ms Oudeh's estranged husband.

She had made more than a dozen 999 calls in the weeks before she was killed, reporting domestic abuse, threats to kill and stalking by Janbaz Tarin.

He was jailed for life with a minimum of 32 years.

Nour Norris, Ms Oudeh's aunt, is now working with Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on plans for "Raneem's Law" to put domestic violence specialists in police control rooms.

Ms Norris told us: "Raneem wasn't taken seriously, she made about 18 calls to police.

"She had to take control with her own hands and get a non-molestation order against him. And the minute she did that she knew she was sending herself into a very scary place."

An inquest into the murders of the two women found multiple failures by West Midlands Police "materially contributed" to their deaths.

It heard evidence of police call-outs to Ms Oudeh's address on seven separate occasions in the weeks leading up to the murders.

Nour Norris is working with Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper on Raneem's Law

On proposals for new legislation to better protect and support victims of domestic violence, Ms Norris added: "Raneem's Law is going to be used as a way to protect other women. We have to put things in place in order for them to be saved.

"It's crucially important to have the right teams on board when those calls come in. 999 call handlers do say there is a lot of calls come through with domestic abuse.

"I believe every call should be taken seriously, because there isn't any woman who makes a call unless they're in desperate need."

The Home Office said it was doing everything in its power to tackle domestic abuse and support victims.

West Midlands Police said it had made a number of changes since the murders of Raneem Oudeh and Khaola Saleem, including increasing the number of staff specifically investigating domestic abuse offences and the creation of a new team to review investigations.

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