LSA junior Nayir Masrur was charged with first-degree murder Wednesday in connection with the death of his aunt, Rubab Huq. Huq was 55 years old, and a mother of two boys.
Masrur, 20, is accused of murdering Huq using a 15-pound dumbbell in the basement of a home in Troy Monday afternoon, where both Masrur and Huq are from.
Police were called to Huq’s home in Troy around 2:30 p.m. on Monday. They were responding to a call from Masrur’s mother, who was reporting Masrur as a missing person in an agitated state, according to the Troy Police Department.
As officers searched for Masrur, he jumped from a second-story window and took off on foot, according to authorities.
About 15 minutes later after the initial call, authorities received another call for a woman who needed an ambulance. This call turned out to be for Huq. The officer arrived at the scene to family members performing CPR on Huq.
Masrur was found about an hour later by officers hiding out in an area between a residential area and a golf course. He was arraigned on Wednesday at the 52-4 District Court in Oakland County, and is being held without bail. If convicted with the charges as they stand, he faces life in prison.
Sergeant Meghan Lehman, public information officer for the Troy Police Department, said the incident appears to be a brutal, unprovoked attack.
In a Facebook post shared by Rubab Huq’s eldest son, Farhan Huq, an alum of the University medical school, Rubab is described as a loving mother and physician, who was herself mourning the loss of her husband to lung cancer. In the post, Farhan said his mother was an inspiration.
“She finished her family medicine residency, she provided a loving home for us, filled with wisdom and love and support that knew no bounds,” Farhan wrote. “She was a phenomenal physician by day and a phenomenal mom by night. She was a real-life wonder woman who somehow, magically, could really do it all.”
“Her last words to me were, ‘Baba (my son), onik jothno korey tomake ar tomar bhai kea manush korechi,’” he continued. “ (Or) ‘I worked really hard to raise you and your brother.’ She was so inspirational that it drew me closer to God. She passed away as she lived – in the service of others.”
Huq ended the post by asking for prayers for his mother.