SPOKANE, Wash. — The man accused of murdering his wife and hiding her body in a freezer in 2019 has been arrested in Europe, the Spokane County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) announced Monday.
Wahid Kashify is wanted in Spokane County for the first-degree murder of his wife, Arezu, whose body was found under the false bottom of a freezer in the couple's shared apartment in June 2019. Kashify fled the country shortly after his wife was reported missing by a friend, and the couple's car was later discovered at the Spokane International Airport.
At approximately noon on Oct. 29, 2022, Kashify was arrested in Europe. SCSO Major Crimes Detective Marc Melville said the exact location in Europe is not being released at this time due to ongoing extradition processes.
"This was a case where we tracked this guy on three continents," Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said. "And he will be coming back to the United States hopefully very shortly after extradition hearings to face up for the murder of his wife."
Arezu was reported missing on May 30, 2019, four days after she was last seen by a friend. Additionally, a call was made to Child Protective Services (CPS) stating that Kashify had "abandoned his children," according to Melville.
That same day, Kashify landed in Afghanistan.
After those calls were made, Melville said a welfare check was conducted at the Kashifys' apartment. Nothing was found during the welfare check, but Melville said detectives then turned their attention to locating the couple's vehicle.
Kashify's car was located at the Spokane Airport on June 1, 2019. After detectives received a search warrant, they found a letter inside the vehicle. According to Melville, the letter stated, "My name is Wahid Kashify. I live at [address]. Here's the code to my phone. There's two videos in there you can watch and judge."
Detectives took the letter seriously and conducted a search of the couple's apartment. During that search warrant, Arezu's body was discovered in the freezer. A video was also found on Kashify's phone in which he admitted to murdering his wife, according to Melville.
"Once the video gets released, you'll understand why the note was written," Melville said. "He alluded to some actions that he's potentially going to take and I'll just leave it at that."
Detectives were able to get in touch with Homeland Security shortly after Arezu was found. It was determined that Kashify fled the United States on May 27, 2019, and headed for Dubai before arriving in Afghanistan on May 30, 2019.
Over the course of three years, Kashify fled to Iran, Turkey and Europe, according to Melville.
Since June 2019, SCSO has worked with federal law enforcement partners in an attempt to locate Kashify. In late October 2022, Melville learned that Kashify was potentially attending a volleyball tournament in Europe. Detectives informed European authorities that Kashify would potentially be at this tournament. He was ultimately arrested and taken to the local jail, where he remains at this time.
Melville said he is unsure if he spent those three years alluding police officers.
"I don't think he was. I think that he felt he was going to get away with it and get to live free. Just not in the United States," he said.
Knezovich and Melville said they are currently working with European authorities to bring Kashify back to Washington, which could take some time if he fights extradition. Once he returns, he will stand trial for first-degree murder.
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