Mohammed Marfani, a 25-year-old UH student, was found dead inside an SUV on Tuesday afternoon near downtown Houston.
Marfani had been missing for two weeks. His family had been anxiously searching for him.
A search team was formed by volunteers of EquuSearch on March 11. The effort, however, was suspended the next day pending additional information from police.
According to the organization’s Web site, inclement weather coupled with a lack of information concerning where exactly to look for Marfani halted the search.
Several weeks ago, the SUV’s owner had parked her vehicle outside an auto repair shop, where she and a friend found Marfani’s body.
Identified through fingerprints by the Harris County medical examiners, Marfani’s death has been deemed accidental. A spokesman said he died from smoke inhalation. The exact date of Marfani’s death has not been decided, as his body went unnoticed for some time.
Because the SUV’s interior had been on fire, the windows of the green Ford Explorer were blackened by smoke and those passing by couldn’t see in. Why he was in the vehicle and how the fire started are questions his family can’t answer.
The fire seems to have started in the passenger seat. The driver’s seat, where Marfani was sitting, was left largely undamaged, while the passenger seat was burned to the springs and the plastic pieces around the doorframe were melted. The burnt remains of a notebook or manual were found on the passenger seat.
Marfani was last seen on March 6 at a nightclub in the 2500 block of San Jacinto, only a few blocks from where his body was found. Transactions were made on Marfani’s credit card, and friends he attended the club with verified he was there.
A surveillance camera at the club ‘showed he appeared to be intoxicated,’ Houston police spokesman John Cannon said. Sugar Land police investigators also reviewed the tape, saying it showed Marfani sitting alone on the curb outside the club before standing up and walking away. Nothing in the tape, police said, suggests foul play.
A warrant for Marfani’s arrest had been issued by Fort Bend County after he missed a scheduled court appearance March 9. He had been charged with burglary of a habitation in 2008.
According to his family, Marfani had been making his scheduled court appearances for the past year and had not seemed worried about this hearing.
Rizwan Marfani, his brother, said Mohammed had not seemed depressed or at all out of sorts in the days before his disappearance. Rizwan Marfani feels that everything is not right with the case, saying his brother’s death warrants further investigation.
Houston Chronicle readers seem to feel the same way. Articles concerning this story are covered with comments from readers who feel HPD is not doing its job.
What the police do not seem to be addressing is that it’s likely Marfani was dead even before his court date.
Most Houstonians who took the time to comment found the situation ‘fishy’ and noted the search was called off because of the warrant issued for Marfani’s arrest.
Although the University would like to encourage a sense of genial goodwill and safety, the truth remains there has been a great deal of violence around us this semester.’
Marfani’s death is tragic, and it is also a cautionary tale. We are not invulnerable and are at risk in this city no matter how we would like to think otherwise.
Matthew Keever is a communication junior and may be reached at [email protected].
