Guilty: Muhammad Syed convicted in first of three trials for Albuquerque’s Muslim homicides

On Monday morning, after just under two hours of deliberation, a jury found Muhammad Syed guilty of first-degree murder in the first of three trials where he was accused of gunning down Muslim men. 

Syed, an Afghan refugee, is facing a mandatory life sentence for killing Aftab Hussein. The trial lasted four days in the Second Judicial District Court.

Syed will be tried at a later date for the deaths of Muhammad Afzaal Hussain who was killed on Aug 1, 2022, and Naeem Hussain who was killed on Aug. 5, 2022. Police are still investigating if Syed fatally shot Mohammad Zahir Ahmadi on Nov. 7, 2011. 

Fateful Day

Hussein was fatally shot on July 26, 2022, with an AK-47 Zastava rifle that detectives found during a search warrant under Syed’s bed. 

At trial, prosecuting attorney David Waymire told the jury that Syed hid near a wall behind a bush on Rhode Island Avenue and waited for Hussein. When Hussein arrived, he got out of his car and was ambushed by Syed who shot him at least nine times with the high-powered rifle. Hussein died instantly, still holding his key FOB. 

But Syed kept shooting. 

“As high up as his neck, throughout his abdomen, his chest area, all the way down into his legs, and, he was even hit as he was on the ground because of the trajectories of some of the bullets exiting out along his feet,” Waymire told the court. “He was on the ground and more shots were still being fired.” 

Justice

Outside the courthouse on Monday, Waymire and co-council Jordan Machin said they were pleased with the jury’s verdict. 

Waymire said the most compelling evidence in this case was the cell phone data that placed Syed circling for about 20 minutes in the immediate area of the murder. Investigators also found a note in Syed’s cell phone that said he was going to test an AK-47 on July 26, 2022, around the time Aftab Hussein was gunned down. 

“The fact that the firearm was definitively identified as being the murder weapon and it was found under his bed — and the note in his own phone that said ‘this was a test of an AK-47,’ whatever he meant by that — was certainly very compelling,” Waymire said. 

During the trial, Waymire had shown photos taken inside the Syed home of a black military-style AK-47 and the box it came in that detectives found under one of the beds.

Detectives also located a live ammunition cartridge and miscellaneous gun parts such as a scope in the house. In one of the minor bedrooms, detectives found a second rifle under a twin bed. 

As for the motive in this case, Waymire said there’s only minimal conjecture to it. 

“This may truly be a random serial killer type of mentality that we will never understand,” he said. 

Machin added that only one person truly knows the motive. 

“The only person who knows that is going to be Muhammad Syed and we’re not entirely sure what that is,” she said. 

Syed’s statement to police was excluded from the trial, but it didn’t contain a motive for the killings, Waymire said. 

“The defendant never did explain why he did this. In fact, he denied any involvement and so where we are left today is the same as where we were a year and a half ago, that we just don’t know what the motive is,” he said. 

Syed’s attorney Thomas Clark had told the jury that there was no solid evidence linking Syed to the slayings. He had said they’ll be asked by the state to speculate on several theories about the killing.  

After the verdict, Clark said the public is never going to hear a motive in this case because one has not been discovered. 

Clark, who tried the case alongside attorney Megan Mitsunaga said he respected the jury’s decision, but they were disappointed on behalf of their client. 

“We respect the jury system. This is the best system in the world. Obviously, we’re disappointed, but the jury made a decision. They made a unanimous decision regarding our client’s guilt, and we have to respect that,” he said. 

Brother speaks after verdict 

Muhammad Imtiaz Hussain, whose younger brother Muhammad Afzaal Hussain was fatally shot days after Aftab Hussein was killed, attended court on Monday to hear the verdict.

He said that there could be some doubt about Muhammad Syed’s involvement in the murder because the family lives in the same house and they’re all interconnected. 

“But if you see the guy who was fleeing from the scene — who was fleeing from the city — he was caught on the road when he was on his way to Texas,” Muhammad Afzaal Hussain said. “It seems the most probable that he’s the one who has done that.”