SPOKANE, Wash. — A man accused of killing his wife and fleeing the United States to escape prosecution has been extradited back to the United States and booked into the Spokane County Jail for first-degree murder.
The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said Wahid Kashify is suspected of killing 24-year-old Arezu Z. Kashify in 2019. The sheriff’s office said Kashify has been held in the Netherlands since his arrest in October 2022.
The sheriff’s office also said Arezu Z. Kashify’s body was found under a false bottom inside a freezer inside the couple’s shared apartment.
Shortly after his wife's friend reported her missing, court documents say Kashify fled the country and landed in Afghanistan. Investigators found his car at the airport with a letter and his cell phone. They discovered a video on the phone where Kashify admitted to killing his wife.
Over the course of three years, investigators say Kashify fled to Iran, Turkey and Europe.
Then in October 2022, European authorities arrested him at a volleyball tournament in a small town outside of Amsterdam.
Sheriff John Nowels announced the suspect's arrival in Spokane this afternoon and shared a message to Arezu's family.
"I would also like to extend our sympathies to the family and friends of the victim in this case,” Nowels said. “I want them to know there are no ends that we will not and have not gone to to bring Mr. Kashify back here to stand trial. for this senseless act of murder."
The Sheriff's Office says Kashify challenged his extradition. And after a lengthy process and several appeals, the courts in the Netherlands denied his appeals.
Sheriff Nowels says Kashify's custody in Spokane is the result of a thorough and long investigation conducted by the major crimes unit. Specifically mentioning Detective Marc Melville, who is the lead investigator on this case.
Kashify faced a judge on Friday as a few of he and his wife's friends were in the courtroom for the hearing.
Kashify was originally placed on a $1 million bond. In the hearing on Friday, prosecutors asked the judge to increase his bond to $5 million. They say that's because he left the country and tried to prevent his extradition.
"I am relieved Kashify was caught. I am really happy he is here now," a woman who reported Arezu missing after the hearing told KREM 2 News on Friday. "We want justice for Arezu. We want him to stay in prison. He doesn't deserve to be out free."
A man who says he is Kashify's best friend also spoke with KREM 2 after the hearing. He says he knew the couple very well and that this is a difficult situation to be in.
"When I hear from the court I get very sad about the situation," Shakib Sidiqi said. "Nobody is happy about this situation happening to his family."
Prosecutors in court on Friday said in 2021, after Kashify fled the country, he called law enforcement and confessed again to killing his wife. He was arrested two years ago at a volleyball tournament near Amsterdam.
The judge agreed to increase Kashify's bond to $5 million. He is expected back in court for his arraignment on July 30.