A woman who was found dead with her two children said she feared her husband would kill her, two years before her death.
Seema Banu, her 11-year-old daughter Asfira and 6-year-old son Faizan were killed at their home in Dublin in October 2020.
Her husband, Sameer Syed was charged with their murder but took his own life before facing his trial.
Inquest
The inquest into the deaths of Ms Banu and her children today heard the Gardaí were aware of violence in their home two years before their deaths.
Ms Banu and her husband came to the attention of Dunnes Stores staff in Sandymount on Christmas Eve 2018, when he was spotted forcibly pulling his wife.
She told staff she was being beaten and tortured by her husband and she feared he would kill her.
Gardaí and flowers outside the house in the Llewellyn Court estate in Ballinteer in which the bodies of 37-year-old Seema Banu, her daughter Asfira, and her son Faizan were found, 30-10-2020. Image: Sam Boal/RollingNewsGardaí and Tusla were alerted and Ms Banu and her children spent one night in a women’s refuge centre before returning home to their apartment.
Then in May 2019, Ms Banu was taken to hospital unresponsive with choke marks on her neck.
Ms Banu was charged with assault causing harm and was denied bail.
Domestic violence
From that incident until the month she died, she continuously told Gardaí and her friend that she loved her husband and wanted her family to reunite.
Her neighbour told the court, Ms Banu did not see herself as a victim of domestic violence.
A Garda at the scene where the bodies of 37-year-old Seema Banu, her daughter Asfira and son Faizan were found on Wednesday in the Llewellyn estate in Ballinteer, Dublin. Picture by: Sam Boal / RollingNewsMs Banu’s nephew told the court Syed left India in 2019, before facing a charge for assaulting his wife and that the family were concerned for Ms Banu’s safety.
The inquest continues tomorrow.
