Mum was recorded on camera telling how her boyfriend admitted killing Tipu Sultan

A mum was recorded on camera telling detectives about the moment her boyfriend confessed to her about his involvement in an alleged murder.
Tipu SultanTipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan

Michael Mullen is claimed to have told his then partner that takeaway boss Tipu Sultan, 32, from Sunderland, may have been accidentally killed during a "struggle" at his shop last April.

The woman said Mullen told her his pal Michael McDougall went to the back of the takeaway at Lake Avenue, South Shields, and shot the married dad.

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It is claimed Mullen, who said he drove McDougall to the scene by motorbike, told her "I don't know if he deliberately did it or if it was an accident".

The woman said Mullen was "white" when he got back to her home with McDougall, who she referred to by the nickname "Mac", shortly after the killing, while a police helicopter hovered overhead looking for the gunman.

She told investigators the gun was buried in her garden and the bike stored there for a few days before it was got rid of.

Prosecutors claim Mullen was the driver who took gunman McDougall to the scene of the killing and that both are jointly responsible for the murder.

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Both men deny murder, manslaughter and possessing a firearm and are being tried by a jury at Newcastle Crown Court. Mullen, 24, of Hawthorne Avenue, South Shields, denies an additional charge of perverting the course of justice and McDougall, 47, of Hylton Avenue, South Shields, denies a further charge of possessing a firearm.

The woman, who gave evidence at the trial via videolink, made the revelations during a conversation with detectives which was captured on video and played to jurors.

She told detectives during the taped conversation that Mullen made his confession to her on the night after the shooting. She said: "He said they drove around to the back of Herbs and Spices and that's when Mac got off the back of the bike and went in.

"He said he was waiting on the bike. He heard a bang, a gunshot. "Mac ran out , jumped on the bike and then they came back to my house, that's when they turned up in my back garden.

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"He said he got shot inside, not outside, like everyone is saying. "He said there was a struggle, obviously Tipu's family or whoever works there were trying to fight Mac off then the gun went off. "He didn't know if he deliberately did it or if it was an accident." The trial continues.