SHOP WOMAN DIES IN MURDER-SUICIDE BID

A jilted husband is believed to have burst into his estranged wife’s workplace and stabbed her

http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/178626/-Shop-woman-dies-in-murder-suicide-bid/

 

Wednesday June 2,2010

By Rod Mills

A JILTED husband is believed to have burst into his estranged wife’s workplace and stabbed her to death before trying to take his own life.

Two firefighters tried to grapple with Sheikh Saine as he launched the frenzied attack on spouse Fatou in a busy city centre newsagent.

But paramedics who raced to the branch of McColl’s in St Enoch Square, Glasgow, discovered Mrs Saine already dead.

Shoppers and staff watched in horror as Saine plunged a knife into the 38-year-old shop manageress’s chest.

Witnesses said he then stabbed himself in the stomach before being restrained and taken to hospital. Detectives were last night thought to be waiting to question him at Glasgow Royal ­Infirmary, where his condition was described as “serious but stable”.

Strathclyde Police, who have launched a murder inquiry, refused to confirm that the attacker and his victim were related. But it is understood they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident. Firemen, who had been carrying out fire safety inspections nearby, rushed to the woman’s aid as the attack unfolded.

They wrestled the man to the ground and disarmed him as he tried to stab himself in the apparent murder-suicide bid. The pair gave the dying woman first aid as emergency services rushed to the scene, but paramedics were unable to save her and she died at the scene.

It is thought the couple split last year and their son is being cared for by grandparents in the family’s native West Africa. A source said: “The two fire officers managed to get the knife off him and then tried to give the woman first aid to try to save her, but she was too badly injured.

“They had been on duty and in uniform at the time, they were carrying out fire safety inspections in the area.” Mrs Fatou is thought to have worked at McColl’s for some time, but it is not known if her husband had also worked for the chain. Another member of staff and  several customers who were in the shop at the time of the murder were uninjured in the attack.

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Passers-by spoke of seeing a bleeding man being stretchered out of the shop. Paul Dale, 24, from Springburn, Glasgow, who was outside a pub just yards away, said: “A man was brought out on a stretcher and looked to be unconscious. He was covered in blood and had a big patch over his stomach. It was frightening to see.”

A female staff member at a nearby Crepe a Croissant said: “We know a lady who works there. She was saying he was stalking the girl. One of the workers came in here for some clingfilm, I think to try and stop the blood.” Saine, said to be in his 40s, is believed to have lived in Greenock, Inverclyde, with his wife until last October, when they separated.

A police spokeswoman said a report will be submitted to the Procurator Fiscal. A spokesman for McColl’s said: “We are aware of the incident. Police are carrying out investigations and we are co-operating fully.”