Crime & Safety

Khan Found Guilty in 2011 Murder of his Wife

Bloomfield resident found guilty in stabbing death of estranged wife.

A Bloomfield man has been convicted for the murder of his estranged wife following a three-week trial, according to published reports.

Khalid Khan, 43, was accused of fatally stabbed Shazmina Khan, 31, of Montclair, in her Montclair home on July 3, 2011. The four-count indictment against him also charged the defendant with two weapons offenses and endangering the welfare of a child.

Blood found on the clothing and driver's side of a car tied Khan to the fatal stabbing of his wife, Essex County Prosecutors said, according to a report on NJ.com.

The trial had prosecutors painting a gruesome picture of what they say happened on the night Shazmina Khan, 31, died from stab wounds to the neck in the bathroom of an apartment she shared with her 8-year-old daughter.

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The trial included testimony from Khan’s now 10-year-old daughter, who was sleeping in her mother’s bed while her mother was murdered, the Star-Ledger reported. 

With the conviction, Khan faces life in prison. He will be sentenced in December.

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In August, Vasquez, sitting in Newark, lowered the bail on Khalid Khan from $1.5 million to $750,000 cash or bond, but the defendant—who has ties to Kenya—was forced to turn over his passport.

Paul Condon, Khalid Khan's attorney, said his client's actions, including his failure to attempt to flee, show he is innocent, said reports. 

Neighbors on Wheeler Street organized candlelight vigils in the days after the murder shocked the Glenfield Park neighborhood.

According to the prosecutor's office, despite the couple's history of domestic disputes, Shazmina Khan did not have a restraining order against her husband. Katherine Carter, Public Information Officer at the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, said in an email to Patch that Khalid Khan was previously arrested on simple assault charges but was not convicted.

Khan's body was found on July 4, 2011 by a downstairs neighbor after her daughter made a call in the middle of the night saying she could not find her mother, said reports.


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