Man found dead in prison seriously assaulted wife five months before killing her and their two children

A man found dead in prison ahead of his trial for murdering his wife and two young children was previously accused of seriously assaulting his wife.

Sameer Syed (38), of Grosvenor Lodge, Rathmines, Dublin 6, was due to go on trial for the murders next week but was found dead on Thursday afternoon in the Midlands Prison, Portlaoise, Co Laois, where he was being held on remand.

He was on bail for domestic assault when he murdered his wife Seema Banu (37) and the couple’s daughter Asfira Riza (11) and son Faizan Syed (6).

Seema Banu had been hospitalised after the assault by her husband, Sameer Syed in May 2020.

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While on bail for this assault, Syed donned a disguise and went to the family home, in Rathfarnham, in October of that year to carry out the killings, which were carefully planned.

Syed’s death is being investigated by the Irish Prison Service and a separate inquiry will be conducted by the Inspector of Prisons.

Details of the previous attack on Ms Banu could not be disclosed before now for legal reasons as Syed was before the courts for the three murders.

Syed, a cyber security professional, was due to appear in court on that charge of assault causing harm in October 2020. That court appearance was due to fall just days after the murders.

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Despite being the chief suspect from the outset for the murders, and having been charged five months earlier with seriously assaulting Ms Banu, he still led mourners at the funeral of his wife and children. The family were from India and Ms Banu’s parents watched the funeral service online as Covid-19 restrictions meant they could not travel to Dublin.

While the couple had separated in 2020 and there was a court order preventing Syed from visiting his wife and children, he dressed up as a woman to go to their south Dublin home and murdered them there in October 2020.

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Syed was due to stand trial at the Central Criminal Court next Wednesday for the murder of his wife, daughter and son at Llewellyn Court, Rathfarnham, Dublin 16 in October 2020. His trial was expected to last five weeks.

After murdering his wife and children, Syed staged the house to make make it look like Ms Banu had killed the children and then taken her own life.

The mother and two children had been dead for a number of days by the time they were discovered. Neighbours became concerned when they had not seen Ms Banu or the children for several days, resulting in the emergency services being called and the murders being discovered.

When gardaí arrived and forced their way into the house they found Ms Banu’s remains in an upstairs bedroom and the bodies of Faizan and Asfira in another bedroom. Syed was a person of interest in the murder inquiry from the start but it took gardaí a month to gather enough evidence to arrest him.