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Syed found guilty of first-degree murder in 2022 killing
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A jury on Monday found Muhammad Syed guilty of first-degree murder in the 2022 shooting death of 41-year-old Aftab Hussein.
The verdict marks the end of a weeklong trial for Syed and the first of what may be three trials for the Afghan refugee in connection with the shooting deaths of three Muslim men in July and August 2022.
“We’re obviously very happy with the verdict,” prosecutor David Waymire said after it was read by District Judge Britt Baca-Miller. “We think the jury heard very strong evidence in this case and they were able to make the right decision. This was clearly a deliberate killing, so we’re very happy that the jury was able to see that.”
The 2nd Judicial District Court jury began deliberations Monday morning and announced their verdict shortly before noon. Deliberations followed four days of testimony last week in the case.
The judge said she will hold a hearing at a later time to set trial dates for two other murder charges Syed faces.
Syed, 53, was arrested Aug. 8, 2022, and was charged with three counts of first-degree murder. The killings spread fear throughout Albuquerque’s Muslim community that a serial killer was targeting Muslim men. The shooting deaths garnered national media attention and a condemnation from President Joe Biden.
Motive
Prosecutors offered little at trial to suggest why Syed shot Hussein.
“There is only minimal conjecture on the possible motive,” Waymire said Monday after the verdict. “As best as we can tell, the motive in this may truly be a random serial-killer type mentality that we will never understand.”
Nor did the trial reveal much about Syed’s background in Afghanistan. Syed told police in an interview that he had served in the Afghan military, but prosecutors were barred from introducing the interview to jurors, Waymire said.
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Prosecutors said they have seen no official records indicating Syed’s possible military service. “Not that we have access to,” Waymire said.
Syed’s attorneys also said motive remains a mystery in the shootings.
“You are never going to hear a motive because one has never been disclosed,” defense attorney Thomas Clark said after the verdict.
Hussein trial
In the case that concluded with Monday’s verdict, Syed was charged with only one of the three killings, that of Hussein outside his apartment at 420 Rhode Island SE on July 26, 2022.
Syed’s attorneys told jurors in closing arguments that at least four other adults in Syed’s household had access to the rifle and could have fired the fatal shots. They also argued that Albuquerque police failed to perform fingerprint and DNA testing on the rifle that could have shown that someone other than Syed handled the weapon.
Prosecutors argued in closing arguments Friday that Hussein’s body was “destroyed” by bullets fired by a high-powered military rifle that created 11 entrance wounds and 10 exit wounds. They alleged that cellphone records showed Syed drove to the scene and hung around for about 20 minutes before Hussein arrived home and parked his car.
Prosecutors said Syed then hid in bushes about 25 feet from Hussein and opened fire with a Serbian-made Zastava Arms 7.62-caliber rifle that records showed he had purchased only 11 days before Hussein’s killing.
The AK-47-type rifle that fired the fatal gunshots was found in a search of Syed’s home the day after his arrest. Waymire identified the rifle as another key element in the prosecution’s case.
“The firearm was definitively identified as being the murder weapon and it was found under (Syed’s) bed,” Waymire said.
In addition, a note was found on Syed’s cellphone with a message prosecutors described as a planning document for Hussein’s killing. The note included the time and date of the killing and referred to a “test” of an AK-47.
“Whatever he meant by that, it was certainly very compelling,” Waymire said.
10+ pictures from the courtroom in ABQ Muslim killing
Syed also faces two counts of first-degree murder and four counts of tampering with evidence in the shooting deaths of Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, on Aug. 1, 2022, and Naeem Hussein, 25, on Aug. 5, 2022.
Hussain’s older brother, Muhammad Imtiaz Hussain, said after Monday’s verdict that he and other family members are troubled by the lack of information about Syed’s background.
“How was (Syed) brought here?” Hussain said. “Who is he? No information. That is very painful.”
