ZAIN and FARYALL AKHTER - 5 and 2 yo(2010) - Irving TX

The uncle of an Irving woman accused of strangling her 5-year-old son said his
niece had been depressed since moving into a new apartment and
reported "strange things inside" the family's home.
"It looks like she had mental problems," said Wasimul Haque, who also
lives in Irving. "I don't understand why she did it."
Saiqa Akhter, 30, is being held in the Irving Jail on suspicion of
capital murder in the death of 5-year-old Zain Akhter, who was
killed Monday afternoon at the Wind Tree Apartments in the 3300
block of Esters Road. A second child,
2-year-old Faryaal Akhter, was critically injured in the attack.
She is being treated at Children's Medical Center, where family
members say she remains on life support.
According to a search warrant affidavit in the case, Saiqa Akhter called
911 Monday and said she had killed both her children.


Saiqa Akhter

Akhter told a 911 operator “that she had used a
wire on their neck, both were not breathing and were blue in
color and both could be found inside the apartment," the document
said. Responding officers found the children in a
bedroom of the family's second-floor apartment. Authorities also
found a wire (hanger) in the apartment that they believe was used to
choke the children. Haque said the children's
father, Rashid Akhter, is overcome with grief.
"He's unable to talk or anything because he is crying," he said, noting
that family members are afraid to leave him alone. "He's totally broken."

Story continues below....

The
father, who works in technical support, did his best to support his
wife, said Haque, who is also related to Rashid Akhter. "He did whatever he can do with his wife to keep her happy all
the time," he said. The only previous
contact that Child Protective Services has with the family came
in May 2009, when the family took the girl to a hospital with
respiratory problems and left the boy alone at home.
"They admitted to it and they said they understand why it was
dangerous to leave a child that young at home by themselves," CPS
spokeswoman Marissa Gonzales said. "They said they had been
really concerned about their daughter and so they just hadn't
been thinking but they were adamant that it wouldn’t happen
again." Gonzales said neither child showed any
signs of neglect or abuse. "They
were in very good condition," she said. "Everyone else that we
spoke to about the family indicated that they had no concerns at all
about the care of the children."

Zain had autism and
suffered from a severe speech impediment, but had been improving, the
uncle said. He said the boy had been in speech therapy.
Faryaal, the younger child, is on life support and is not expected to
survive, Haque said. The uncle said
authorities had not yet allowed Rashid Akhter to talk to his
wife, and the family is trying to get her a lawyer.
"It is very, very tragic," Haque said. "We are in the deep sadness."

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services visited the home
of the 30-year-old mother accused of strangling her two children last
year. Officials said Saiqa Akhter and her husband left their
five-year-old son Zain Akhter at home alone while they took his younger
sister to the emergency room.

On July 19, authorities said the mother called police to report she did
"something terrible" to her children. When police arrived, both Zain and
his two-year-old sister Faryaal were found unconscious, strangled with
what appeared to be wire, according to an Irving Police Department
affidavit.

Zain died from his injuries. Faryaal remains in "very critical"
condition.

Guadalupe Perez, a school bus driver, and Jay Pope, a school bus
monitor, were two of the last people who saw Saiqa Akhter and Zain
together.

"Yesterday, she don't talk," Perez said. "She take the kid and she go.
And I say, 'Wow. What's wrong?'"

Pope described the child as a "real sweet little boy."

"You know, it's sad," he said. "I just can't understand it; what the
lady was thinking about."

Neither the two nor Akhter's neighbors said they know the specific
motivator that caused the mother to snap.

However, a former neighbor described Akhter as lonely and depressed. He
said he remembers seeing her on the apartment steps with her head in her
hands.

He also remembers Zain falling from a second floor balcony unsupervised
last year. He said Akhter was inside the apartment while the boy was
outside on the landing.

"Having a baby that age, I can't imagine getting to that point," said
neighbor Lydia Theno.

An Irving, Texas, mother accused of strangling her two children with an
antenna wire told a 911 operator that she killed them because they were
not "normal."

"Both are autistic," she said. "I don't want my kids to be like that. I want normal kids."

Saiqa Akhter, 30, was arraigned Wednesday morning on a single charge of
capital murder in the death of her 5-year-old son Zain, who died Monday.
Family members have said the boy was autistic and had a speech
impediment.

Irving officials canceled a second
arraignment Wednesday afternoon in the death of her 2-year-old daughter,
Faryaal, who died Tuesday evening a day after she was revived and
placed on life support.

Akhter called 911 about 5 p.m. Monday from the family's apartment.

In the 911 tape, released Wednesday, Akhter admits to wrapping a wire
around the children's necks until they turned blue. Before that, she
said she tried to make them drink bathroom cleaner.

"I put in their mouth, but they don't drink it," she said.

While still on the phone with the 911 operator, she washed her hands to get rid of the smell of the household cleaner.

Police found the children lying on a bed in the family's second-floor
apartment along with an antenna wire they believe was used to kill the
children, according to a probable-cause affidavit. Also listed among the
items removed from the home were a pillow, a section of mattress and a
bottle of household cleaner.

Akhter's uncle said his niece had been depressed since moving into the
new apartment and reported "strange things" inside the family's home.

"It looks like she had mental problems," said Wasimul Haque, who did not
elaborate on what Saiqa Akhter said she had seen. "I don't understand
why she did it."

Zain, the 5-year-old, had autism and suffered from a severe speech
impediment but had been improving, the uncle said. He said the boy had
been in speech therapy.

Faryaal also had health problems and was rushed to the emergency room
last year with a respiratory issue. A stethoscope was also taken from
the home.

The children's father, Rashid Akhter, emigrated from Pakistan in the late 1990s. He married Saiqa several years later, and she then moved here. He works as a computer technician.

"He did whatever he can do with his wife to keep her happy all the time," Haque said.

The family was the subject of a Child Protective Services investigation
last year after Zain was left alone at home while his parents rushed his
sister to a hospital to be treated for breathing problems.

An agency spokeswoman said there were no signs of neglect or abuse.

An Irving woman remained jailed Thursday under a suicide watch after
allegedly strangling her two young children with a wire.
A Dallas County sheriff's spokeswoman said Thursday that 30-year-old Saiqa Akhter of
Irving is being kept under a close 24-hour watch in the county jail. She
received a psychiatric evaluation when she was booked into jail.
Akhter is charged with two counts of capital murder in the deaths of her
5-year-old son, Zain Akhter, and her 2-year-old daughter, Faryaal
Akhter, who died Tuesday night.
Faryaal was buried Thursday in Richardson, one day after her brother's burial.
"It is a hard time for us -- you can imagine," said Wasimul Haque, the children's uncle.
"And I can't explain why inside what's happening now."
According to a recording, Akhter told a 911 operator that she killed the children because they
were autistic and she wanted "normal kids."
Haque said only Zain had autism.
"I lost everything -- my babies -- but I don't want to lose my niece," Haque said. "She must see
that psychiatrist right away, because she needs medical help right now."
Family members said Akhter is confused about what happened to her children.
"She says, 'I didn't did it. How did this happen?'" Haque said.
Bond for Akhter has been set at $1 million.

The Irving man who buried both of his children this week vows to stand by his wife who is charged with their murder.
"I lost my daughter. I lost my son. I can't afford to lose my wife," says Rashid Akhter, the husband of Saiqa Akhter.
Saiqa Akhter is charged with two counts of Capital Murder, a Child under the age of six.
"I understand my children are gone. They can't come back, but my wife,
she's a caring mom. I want her back in my life so I can feel like I'm
not alone in this world" says Mr. Akhter.
Saiqa Akhter was arrested Monday afternoon after she called 911 to
report that she had killed five-year-old Zain and two-year-old Faryaal.
During the call Mrs. Akhter told the dispatcher that she killed the
children because they were autistic.
Rashid Akhter says his two-year-old daughter was not autistic but that
his son was. Mr. Akhter says Zain was showing signs of improvement. "He
says the words like 'see you papa.'"
Akhter says he believes his wife is mentally ill, and she was afraid
that someone was going to arrest her and her family. In recent months he
says his wife was fearful of people who looked at her while they were
on their cell phones. He says she also expressed fear of footsteps in
the apartment above theirs. Mr. Akhter also says when police were
nearby, his wife was afraid they were coming to arrest her or her
family.
"In the last three or four months, she was seeing something, something was controlling her."
Mr. Akhter says when his son was two years old; his wife was disturbed
by a comment made by a neighbor. "One of her friends, she said, your son
is not speaking? My daughter's speaking. Your son is not." Mr. Akhter
says after that his wife stopped socializing with friends and family
members.
Dallas Attorney Richard Franklin has been appointed to represent Mrs.
Akhter. "We have to demonstrate that she didn't know the difference
between right and wrong and that's a pretty tough hurdle," says
Franklin. "Really and truly a lot of insane people know the different
between right and wrong. They just can't control themselves," he says.
Mr. Akhter says his wife cooked Sambosa, a type of cookie, for her
children just hours before their death. "She was very caring. She didn't
work. She wanted to spend her whole time with the children, so she
wanted to make sure the children are secure" he says.
Franklin says he will have a psychologist and a psychiatrist evaluate
Mrs. Akhter. "We're a long way from finding out what the problem is in
her particular case. We just don't know yet."

The father doesn't mention anything about getting help for his wife when he knew she was psychotic for the 3 to 4 months prior to her killing the children. How does he justify leaving the children in her care?

Irving mother's attorney plans insanity defense in capital murder case
By Matt Peterson/Editor
mpeterson@dallasnews.com | Bio
2:02 PM on Fri., Jul. 30, 2010



The attorney for an Irving mother accused of strangling her two children this month says he will pursue an insanity defense in the case.

Saiqa Akhter appeared in court today for a preliminary hearing for the first time since the July 19 deaths, KTVT-TV (Channel 11) reports. Her attorney, Richard Franklin, asked the judge to lower her bail to $20,000 from the current $2 million. His request was denied.

Akhter is being held under suicide watch at the Dallas County Jail. She faces two counts of capital murder in the deaths of her 5-year-old son and 2-year-old daughter at their Irving apartment.

She told a 911 operator that she felt burdened by two autistic children and wanted "normal kids." Listen to the 911 call.

http://crimeblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2010/07/

Jul 30, 2010 11:09 am US/Central
Irving Mom Accused Of Murdering Kids Faces Judge Reporting
Stephanie Lucero IRVING (CBS 11 / TXA 21)

The Irving woman accused of strangling her children to death last week made her first appearance in court Friday.

It was morning when Saiqa Akhter walked into Judge Dan Patterson's courtroom, wearing Dallas County-issued jail clothing, and looked at her husband, Rashid Akhter, who was sitting in the third row.

Mrs. Akhter is charged with two counts of Capital Murder in connection with the death of her five-year-old son, Zain, and her two-year-old daughter, Faryaal.

Irving Police Detective Brandon Spencer testified that on July 19th officers responded to Mrs. Akhter's call to 911, during which she told dispatchers that she had killed both of her children. During that call she also said she had killed the children because they had autism and she wanted her kids to be "normal."

Spencer said Akhter was questioned twice by detectives at the Irving Police Department and during those interviews confessed to killing her children. He testified that she used a doll to demonstrate how she strangled the two.

Spencer says when officers arrived at the Akhter house Faryaal had a cord wrapped around her neck.

"They placed her in custody, checked the apartment and found two children unconscious on the bed in the master bedroom," Spencer said.

Defense Attorney Richard Franklin says he is pursuing an insanity defense for his client. Franklin also requested that Judge Patterson reduce Mrs. Akhter's bond from $1 million for each count to $10,000. The judge denied that request.

"If she did do it, I think she was insane," Franklin said.

Saiqa Akhter made no statements while in court Friday, but in an exclusive interview with CBS 11 News last Friday, Rashid Akhter said his wife occasionally displayed unusual behavior but had never been diagnosed with a mental illness.

Friday's hearing was an Examining Trial and Judge Patterson found there is enough evidence to bound Saiqa Akhter over for trial. He denied Franklin's request for a bail reduction.

http://cbs11tv.com/local/Saiqa.Akhter.Irving.2.1834019.html