A bitter war of words between two previously close-knit couples would rip their family apart in a matter of days and lead to senseless murder.
Mobeen Shahzad and Sheridan Fitzsimmons trusted Mazammal Mahmood Butt and Madihya Mazammal with their children.
The two husbands were 'supposedly' like brothers growing up, and the two wives were like sisters and would frequently spend time together.
But in the space of a devastating week angry accusations and foul-mouthed insults led to bad blood.
The feud led to the couples fighting in a Lozells car park on Sunday, November 17, 2019, culminating in Shahzad plunging a knife into Mr Butt.
Following a trial held at Coventry Crown Court a jury convicted Shahzad, aged 28, of Osborne Grove, Lozells, of murder, and Fitzsimmons, aged 29, of Conybere Street, Highgate, of manslaughter. They will be sentenced on March 12.
Mortally wounded, 27-year-old Mr Butt, affectionately known as 'Zammy', staggered to nearby Lozells Street but collapsed and died before he arrived at a hospital.
His mother Sajeda Butt described him as a 'kind-hearted, charismatic and a loving son, brother, husband and friend' who remained the 'life and soul' of the family despite his untimely death. They were 'lost' without him, she said.
In the aftermath of the stabbing Shahzad and Fitzsimmons were stopped at gunpoint by armed policeon Alum Rock Road less than two hours later. The former was arrested on suspicion of murder while Fitzsimmons, who was heavily pregnant at the time, was initially treated as a witness.
She remarked to a paramedic: ''I never meant for things to go this far, I never meant for anyone to lose their life."
Whatever the true extent of Fitzsimmons' influence on her husband's deadly actions, it is likely she was in genuine shock at that moment. It was the realisation the family had been torn in two and things would never be the same.
The criminal case surrounding her appeared to hinge on whether she instructed her husband to 'finish' and 'kill' Mr Butt and whether she was aware of the presence of the knife.
Fitzsimmons never denied being 'angry' with the victim and confirmed she text her mother stating she was 'raging' with him that day.
She had never felt fully accepted into the wider family.
Fitzsimmons met Shahzad in 2012 and they had a Muslim marriage in 2015. But it was said the fact she was not Pakistani remained an issue with some, in particular Mr Butt's father, the owner of the family butchers on Lozells Road, Mazammal Halal Meat Centre.
And the business itself was another source of strain.
Mr Butt had run it himself at one point, but unsuccessfully so. It ran into thousands of pounds of debt and his father was forced to turn to the Islamic community for a loan.
He also made the decision to place Shahzad and his brother in charge to turn around its fortunes. Meanwhile Mr Butt and his wife spent some time in Pakistan and returned in 2019.
But by the summer of that year Mr Butt, who was employed to work in the butchers, and Shahzad were said to be having arguments on a daily basis.
In July police were called to the shop when one particularly disagreement turned physical.
In the wake of that Mr Butt was told he could no longer work in the business, while Shahzad text his wife he would 'chop' him, something he later dismissed as a 'joke'.
The court heard it was mainly Mr Butt's apparent tardiness, inability to meet orders and lack of cleanliness that were the problem, but it was never anything 'personal'.
That all changed in November that year.
On Wednesday the 13th there was an incident which led to Fitzsimmons making an allegation against Mr Butt.
The sensitive nature of the accusation threatened to drive a destructive wedge between the family, the prosecution argued. But perhaps more significant was the fact Fitzsimmons' claim was not believed by Mrs Mazammal, while other family members appeared to want to sweep it under the carpet.
Things came to a head when Fitzsimmons was summoned to the shop on Saturday, November 16 for a showdown confrontation.
All hell broke loose.
The jury heard Mr Butt continued to deny the allegation against him and responded with a lewd remark towards Fitzsimmons, who called him a 'b******' and hurled a mop at him in retaliation.
That sparked Mrs Mazammal into a fierce defence of her husband. In Punjabi, which Fitzsimmons does not speak, she returned the foul-mouthed insult but - significantly - also extended it to the defendants' children.
It was only an hour or so later Fitzsimmons found out what Mrs Mazammal had said, and the revelation stung.
She told the court: "I had never had a problem with her before. I was really angry, those are my babies. Someone I trusted with my kids turned straight away and called them b*******. If I was having an argument with somebody I would never dream of bringing their kids into it."
Angry text messages were exchanged between the two wives that evening, with Mrs Mazammal labelling Fitzsimmons a 'liar, causing trouble for everyone'.
The repercussions continued to swirl into the early hours of the morning, during which time Shahzad took a drive out with a friend, downed alcohol and unloaded his troubles.
Fitzsimmons called and messaged him, one of the texts saying 'delete all the chat, anything happen and chat is evidence of you hurting Zammy', while another said 'I want those f****** out of Lozells'.
It was not fully established how far the ramifications of the shop row had spread throughout the family by the late morning and afternoon of Sunday, November 17.
Mrs Mazammal said only their parents were aware, when she was asked about the fact 56 calls were made from their home to Pakistan in a matter of hours that day.
Fast forward to the fatal events of the car park.
Shahzad had been working in the shop and Fitzsimmons came to collect some meat for dinner.
But in the car park she encountered Mr Butt and their dispute reignited as she also accused him of spitting on her car.
Everyone gave a different account around the crucial details of what happened next.
Mrs Mazammal said she heard shouting, came out of her flat when Shahzad said to her, menacingly, 'watch what I do to him today'.
She claimed Fitzsimmons took hold of her and said 'Ive grabbed her Mobeen, go and kill him, go and finish him'.
Mrs Mazammal told the court she then scuffled with Fitzsimmons before her husband disappeared from view and Shahzad re-emerged a few moments later saying 'go and pick up your husband from the road, I’ve killed him'.
While Fitzsimmons, heavily pregnant at the time, claimed that Mrs Mazammal attacked her first, hit her repeatedly to the head and stomach, before Mr Butt joined in only for Shahzad to intervene to get him off.
She denied giving her husband instructions to 'kill' or 'finish' him adding 'Madihya herself knows I didn't say anything like that'.
Finally, Shahzad's recollection was that he tried to separate the two women but then turned his attention to Mr Butt who he claimed was running at his wife whilst holding a knife. He said he managed to wrestle the blade from him and pick it up off the ground.
Shahzad conceded he was still holding the weapon and must have inflicted the fatal wound during the 'little tussle' with his cousin that followed. He added he did not remember the knife penetrating and that it must have been an accident, whilst also insisting he was only trying to defend Fitzsimmons.
Only they will know exactly what happened in the car park that day.
Mazammal Mahmood Butt never had the chance to give his account.
