UPDATE: Wahid Kashify is back in the United States and Booked into the Spokane County Jail for Murder 1st Degree
Video: Sheriff Nowels Statement
This afternoon, July 18, 2024, five long years after Wahid Kashify, suspected of murdering his wife, 24-year-old Arezu Z. Kashify and fleeing the U.S.A. to escape prosecution, has been successfully brought back to Spokane County from the Netherlands, where he’s been held since his arrest on October 29, 2022.
Wahid was returned to Spokane by the U.S. Marshals Service, where his custody was transferred to waiting FBI Special Agent C. Sadlowski, FBI Special Agent J. Cleary, and Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Detective Marc Melville, the lead Detective of this years-long investigation.
On June 4, 2019, the body of the victim, Arezu Kashify, Wahid’s wife, was found beneath a false bottom inside a freezer in the residence they shared with their young children. This discovery sparked a lengthy investigation and search, spanning three continents and five years, to finally bring the murder suspect, Wahid Kashify, back to Spokane to stand trial for Murder 1st Degree.
Today’s announcement would not have been possible without the tireless work and immense dedication of the multiple agencies involved. They worked tirelessly together to ensure that the victim Arezu Kashify’s voice would not be lost in this process. Over five years ago to date, Ms. Kashify was taken from her children, her family, and her friends. Despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles, including a worldwide search and a lengthy extradition process, we are now at a point where the man accused of murdering Arezu Kashify will stand trial in Spokane County Superior Court.
We thank all of our partnering agencies, the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Attorney’s Office, U.S. Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rogers, U.S. Marshals Office, INTERPOL, Dutch National Police, Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Detectives and lead Detective Marc Melville, former Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich and current Spokane County Sheriff John Nowels.
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Information Released November 7, 2022:
Video can be viewed on our YouTube Channel or our Facebook page.
UPDATE: Wahid Kashify Arrested in Europe for the 2019 Murder of his wife, Arezu Kashify
In late October of this year, Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Detective Marc Melville, in cooperation with the FBI, DOJ, DOD, other Federal Agencies/Partners, and Interpol, learned Wahid Kashify could potentially attend a volleyball tournament in Europe. This information was provided to law enforcement in that area, and Wahid was later located and arrested.
On October 29, 2022, at approximately 12:00 pm (time in Europe), Wahid Kashify was safely arrested as he exited a locker room at the gym where the tournament was being held. Wahid remains in custody, awaiting an extradition hearing. This could be a lengthy process, depending on whether Wahid fights extradition back to the United States and, ultimately, Spokane County to stand trial on Murder 1st Degree charges.
We thank all of our Federal and International partners who continued to work with us, embracing the need to find, arrest, and bring Wahid Kashify back to stand trial for the murder of his wife, Arezu Kashify.
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Release sent on June 11, 2019:
UPDATE: Wahid Kashify Wanted for Murder 1st Degree
Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Detective Marc Melville has obtained a felony arrest warrant for Wahid Kashify, charging him with Murder 1st Degree. Through the investigation, Detectives developed probable cause for the warrant charging Wahid Kashify with the murder of his wife, 24-year-old Arezu Z. Kashify, whose remains were discovered on June 4, 2019, and positively identified by the Spokane County Medical Examiner yesterday.
On the evening of May 30, 2019, a friend of Arezu Z. Kashify reported her as a missing person. She said Arezu had not been seen or heard from since approximately 1:00 am on May 26, 2019.
Also on May 30, 2019, the occasional daycare provider/friend of Wahid Kashify contacted Child Protective Services and reported Wahid left the Kashify children with them just after midnight on May 26, 2019. Wahid had claimed Arezu packed her things on May 24th or 25th and left. Wahid said he needed to go to work and needed someone to watch the children. On May 27, Wahid stopped in for two short visits and left some childcare items for the children. On May 28th, they contacted Wahid and explained they had their own children and couldn’t care for his as well. Wahid said he or Arezu would pick up the children soon, but neither showed up. Over the next two days, they attempted to contact Arezu and Wahid multiple times but were unsuccessful. They contacted Child Protective Services, who responded and are overseeing the care of the two children.
On May 31, 2019, Major Crimes Detectives, with the assistance of Crime Analyst Mark Voigtlaender, learned Wahid boarded an airplane leaving the United States on May 28, 2019, at approximately 1:50 pm traveling to Dubai. As Detectives gained additional information, they responded to Kashify’s apartment located at 33 E. Graves in North Spokane. They contacted the apartment manager, and believing someone inside the apartment may be in immediate need of help, exigent entry into the apartment was made. A “sweep” or “walkthrough” of the apartment, looking for a person who was hurt or in immediate need of care, was conducted, not an actual search. A search of a person’s private residence can only be performed with a search warrant supported by probable cause, which the Detectives did not have at this point in the investigation. Finding no one in obvious need of assistance, the residence was secured, and a Press Release asking for the public’s help was issued Friday evening.
On June 1, 2019, the Kashify’s 2014 Toyota Sienna was located and seized at the Spokane International Airport. A search warrant was later obtained for the vehicle, which was processed for evidence.
On June 4, 2019, after developing probable cause, a search warrant was obtained for the Kashify apartment. During the execution of the search warrant, Detectives located the body of a deceased female, later identified by the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office as Arezu Kashify, hidden beneath a false bottom of a chest freezer inside the apartment. Detectives and Spokane County Sheriff’s Forensic Unit Crime Scene Specialists processed the scene and recovered evidence.
With the additional evidence and information gained during the investigation, Detective Melville developed probable cause to charge Wahid Kashify with the crime of Murder 1st Degree in the death of his wife, Arezu Kashify, and a warrant was issued. Major Crimes Detectives are working with our federal law enforcement partners in an attempt to locate Wahid Kashify. Once he is found, we will continue to work with our federal partners to extradite Wahid Kashify and bring him back to Spokane County for trial.
Tips and information regarding this investigation, or information regarding Wahid’s whereabouts, can be reported to Detective Marc Melville at 509-477-3325, reference 10072915.
This Spokane County Sheriff Office news article "UPDATE: Wahid Kashify is back in the United States & Booked into the Spokane County Jail for Murder" was originally found on https://www.spokanecounty.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?CID=7