Businessman accused of beheading his wife

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The crime drips with brutal irony: a woman decapitated, allegedly by her estranged husband, in the offices of the television network the couple founded with the hope of countering Muslim stereotypes.

Muzzammil “Mo” Hassan is accused of beheading his wife last week, days after she filed for divorce. Authorities have not discussed the role religion or culture might have played, but the slaying gave rise to speculation that it was the sort of “honor killing” more common in countries half a world away, including the couple’s native Pakistan.

Funeral services for Aasiya Hassan, 37, were Tuesday. Her 44-year-old husband is scheduled to appear for a felony hearing today.

The Hassans lived in Orchard Park — a well-off Buffalo suburb that hadn’t seen a homicide since 1986 — and started Bridges TV there in 2004 with the message of developing understanding between North America and the Middle East and South Asia. The network, available across the U.S. and Canada, was believed to be the first English-language cable station aimed at the rapidly growing Muslim demographic.

Orchard Park Police Chief Andrew Benz said his officers had responded to domestic incidents involving the couple, most recently Feb. 6, the day Mo Hassan was served with the divorce papers and an order of protection.

“I’ve never heard him raise his voice,” said Paul Moskal, who became friendly with the couple while he was chief counsel for the FBI in Buffalo. Moskal would answer questions in forums aired on Bridges TV that were intended to improve understanding between Muslim-Americans and law enforcement.

“His personal life kind of betrayed what he tried to portray publicly,” Moskal said.

On Feb. 12, Hassan went to a police station and told officers his wife was dead at the TV studio.

“We found her laying in the hallway the offices were off of,” Benz said. Aasiya Hassan’s head was near her body.

“I don’t know if [the method of death] does mean anything,” said the chief, who would not discuss what weapon may have been used. “We certainly want to investigate anything that has any kind of merit. It’s not a normal thing you would see.”