SPOKANE, Wash. — The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office is working with federal law enforcement partners to extradite the husband of a woman found dead in a freezer in a Spokane County apartment.
Wahid Kashify is wanted in Spokane County for first degree murder of his wife, Arezu.
Arezu’s body was found under the false bottom of a freezer, according to court documents.
Arezu was last seen on May 25. Wahid bought an airline ticket and left the country on May 28, authorities said.
The ticket's destination was for Dubai, but the Spokane County Sheriff's Office is still working to confirm Wahid's exact whereabouts.
Corporal Mark Gregory said Kashify boarded the plane May 28 at 1:50 p.m.
Search warrant uncovers body, new evidence
On June 4, Major Crimes detectives found a dead female body hidden underneath a false bottom of a freezer in the Kashify's apartment while executing a search warrant.
Court documents said along with the body, there was a red or similar colored bra attached to the body and there was blood around the body on the floor of the freezer.
The medical examiner said on June 10 that the identity, confirmed by fingerprint comparison, is "Arezu, no given name."
"Presumed family name is Kashify," the medical examiner said.
During the search of the apartment, court documents show investigators found a pair of scissors on the floor in the kitchen, a receipt for a cash withdraw for $50,000 and various knives.
Investigators also searched Wahid's Toyota Sienna and found a handwritten note in the center console that read:
"I live in [redacted]- My phone code is [redacted] There is a video or two videos that you can watch and judge. Thanks."
Friends report Arezu missing.
According to court documents, a friend told police that Arezu was staying at her home from May 25-26. She said Arezu did not want to go home because she and her husband were mad at each other.
Wahid called Arezu while she was at the friend’s home from May 25-26 and talked her into returning home, according to court documents.
Arezu’s friend told police she had been in contact with Arezu’s father, who lives in Afghanistan, according to court documents.
Arezu’s father told the friend about a phone call he received from Wahid where he claimed that Arezu was leaving him without providing further information, according to court documents.
The friend told police she was aware of some marital issues between Arezu and Wahid but was unsure if there was a history of domestic violence, according to court documents. She did tell police that Arezu had a large bruise on her leg and she thought Wahid was the cause of it, though she was not sure.
The friend also told police that Arezu had recently collected “court paperwork” regarding her relationship with Wahid but she did not have the money to file it, according to court documents.
She said Arezu told her that Wahid said they could “go back to Afghanistan to break up,” according to court documents.
Arezu’s friend told police that she was unsure of where Arezu would go, as she does not have access to a vehicle or money, and does not have a job, according to court documents. She added that Arezu would never leave her children.
The friend also told police that Arezu is completely dependent on Wahid for support and thought that Wahid “did something bad” to her, according to court documents.
Social worker goes to couple's home
On May 30, a social worker with Child Protective Services visited the couple’s apartment on a welfare check after a call from one of Wahid’s acquaintances, documents said.
The acquaintance told the social worker that both families moved from Afghanistan and settled in Spokane, according to court documents. Since arriving, the couple had two children, ages 5 and 1.
On Sunday, May 26, Wahid contacted the acquaintance and told him that Arezu packed her things and ran away over the weekend, according to court documents. Wahid claimed he had to go to work and would leave the kids behind.
Wahid’s acquaintance told him that his wife would look after the children.
According to court documents, Wahid left the children with his acquaintance’s family for several days before he called Wahid to say that he had five children of his own and could not care for them anymore.
On Wednesday, May 29, and Thursday, May 30, the acquaintance tried to contact Wahid multiple times without any success, according to court documents. That’s when he contacted CPS.
After CPS attempted to contact the couple without success, both children were taken into protective custody, according to court documents.
A woman who identified herself as one of Arezu’s best friends spoke with the social worker at Kashify’s apartment, according to court documents. She said Arezu often complained about problems with Wahid, saying she wanted to dress differently but Wahid would not allow it.
She said another one of Arezu’s best friends had come to the apartment on May 30 looking for Arezu, according to court documents. She said he had spoken with Arezu’s mother, who still lives in Afghanistan, and that she was crying due to the lack of recent contact with her daughter when they usually speak every day.
Arezu’s mother asked her friend to check on her daughter, according to court documents.
More witnesses come forward
KREM 2 spoke with a man who identified himself as the husband's business partner. His name is Ijaz Babakar. He received an email from Wahid two days after he bought the plane ticket out of the country. It said he was giving his partner all of his remaining shares of their business.
Court documents confirmed this information.
A criminal analyst with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office later searched Wahid’s and Arezu’s names and determined that Wahid had left the United States, according to court documents. He was unable to find any indication that Arezu left the area.
After the sheriff’s office issued a press release asking for public assistance in locating Arezu, a nurse practitioner called to make a report, according to court documents. She said Arezu had been in her office in late March or early April.
The nurse practitioner told police that she believed Arezu was afraid of her husband and offered to contact law enforcement for help.
Arezu declined the nurse’s offer, saying her husband “would kill her immediately,” according to court documents.
Another man who said he works with Wahid told police Wahid had said he and Arezu were “having issues,” according to court documents.
According to court documents, Arezu told Wahid that she was displeased with the amount of women he was around, and he told her that he would “go back to Afghanistan and get a new wife.”
During a follow-up conversation, the man told authorities that Wahid quit his job on May 26 without notice.
