The woman who allegedly murdered the wife of a Boonton Township, NJ man at the instruction of the man testified that he had previously asked her to lie about an assault.
Nazish Noorani was killed in August 2011, while walking with her husband, Kashif Parvaiz, on a Boston street. Parvaiz later told police that the couple had been the victims of a hate crime. Parvaiz said that three black men referred to him and his wife as “terrorists” before shooting them. However, police later discovered that Parvaiz had allegedly hired a friend to kill his wife and injure him in the attack.
According to authorities, Parvaiz admitted to the murder plan in a recorded interview.
During a pretrial hearing, prosecutors sought to admit into the court record evidence of Parvaiz’s “prior bad acts,” including evidence that he had previously tried to hire the same romantic friend to attack him so that he could blame the incident on another person.
Parvaiz’s friend, 29-year-old Antionette Stephen, took the witness stand and testified that Parvaiz asked to be attacked five months before the murder. According to Stephen, Parvaiz hoped to blame the attack on an ex-girlfriend who had filed a domestic violence complaint against him. Prosecutors have noted the similarities between this alleged attack and the murder of Parvaiz’s wife.
Stephen described the pair’s relationship as “romantic.” Stephen has already admitted to eventually murdering Noorani at Parvaiz’s behest. Stephen is cooperating with prosecutors and is expected to testify against Parvaiz.
Although prosecutors are not allowed to discuss the murder of Noorani at the pretrial hearing, they are able to admit evidence of Parvaiz’s previous bad acts.
When the trial begins, Parvaiz will face felony murder charges. Homicide is considered the most serious criminal offense under the New Jersey criminal code. As set forth by N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3, criminal homicide is a first degree felony. If Parvaiz is convicted of first degree felony murder, he could face a sentence of lifetime imprisonment in NJ State Prison.
For more information, see the NJ.com article entitled “Man Accused of Hiring Friend to Kill Wife in Boonton Hatched Similar Plan Before, Friend Says.“
