The heartbroken father of Mikaeel Kular believes his son was killed because he looked like him.
Zahid Saeed said that Mikaeel’s mum, Rosdeep Adekoya, had been obsessed with him and could not bear the thought of the little boy growing into a spitting image.
The 34-year-old chef revealed he had had a three-month affair with Adekoya in 2009, when she became pregnant with Mikaeel and his twin sister.
He claimed she became infatuated with him and would not leave him alone but when he ended their relationship, her love turned to hate.
Shattered Zahid said he regretted not getting to know his son and wished he had been able to protect him from his killer mum.
“My son was the innocent victim. I just wish she’d brought her anger down on me and not him,” he said.
Adekoya was convicted of culpable homicide last month after she admitted beating three-year-old Mikaeel to death in January.
She dumped the boy’s body in a suitcase in woods near her sister’s house in Kirkcaldy, then reported him missing.
Hundreds of people joined a search for him before Adekoya finally broke down and confessed.
Zahid’s comments came as it was revealed Adekoya will not be appealing her 11-year sentence.
She has until Monday to lodge court papers against her punishment but has not instructed her lawyers to act.
Zahid has previously branded the sentence an insult, saying she could be freed in little more than five years.
“It’s nothing. Mikaeel would only have been 10 and yet she robbed him of even reaching that young age,” he said.
“I want her to stay behind bars for the rest of her life. I would say I wished her dead but I want her to live with what she’s done.”
He added: “She killed him because he was a miniature version of me and in doing that she was killing a part of me too.
“Her obsession made her love me but then it made her hate me and she would stop at nothing to hurt me for rejecting her.
“I think she killed Mikaeel because she couldn’t stand to see me in him every day.”
Zahid said he had loved being a father but had been prevented from seeing the twins since just before their first birthday.
“I was helpless,” he said. “She refused to put me on the birth certificate so I had no parental rights.”