Missing 8 months, woman’s remains found in suitcase
FITCHBURG - Faiza Malik’s relatives, including a cousin in Washington State who first reported her missing, had no communication with her since Dec. 29.
Malik, 27, a native of Pakistan and mother of a 3-year-old boy, came to the United States because of an arranged marriage with Asim Amran, 29. She did not work and mostly stayed at the family’s second-floor apartment on Summer Street taking care of the child.
On Thursday morning, Malik’s decomposed body was found stuffed into a suitcase near Depot Road in Oxford, off Interstate 395. Her husband, who was arraigned yesterday in Gelinas Courthouse on charges that he killed her, allegedly told an acquaintance he killed his wife, but was not ready to say why, according to court documents.
“Mr. Amran continued to tell Witness 1 [the acquaintance] . . . that if he gets caught, he will only do seven to 10 years,’’ the document said.
Amran, a nurse who works at Sandalwood Care and Rehabilitation Center in Oxford, allegedly told the acquaintance he recently borrowed a friend’s car to check on the remains.
Malik was reported missing to Fitchburg police Jan. 4 and is believed to have been killed around Dec. 30, according to court documents.
An investigation by local and State Police found that Amran, a native of Pakistan who is a US citizen, had a gun license, and a .22-caliber handgun registered to him.
He was interviewed in May by State Police detectives and gave different versions of his whereabouts on Dec. 31, according to a court document. He said he drove around, but could not remember where he went.
Sergeant James S. Nanof, one of the detectives, said in a report that Amran had earlier told Fitchburg police he went to a
Troopers subsequently discovered that a suitcase was missing from the couple’s apartment, but Amran said it was because his wife had left him. Her family said she had been keeping items in the suitcase to ship back to her family in Pakistan.
In July, troopers interviewed the acquaintance again, who said Amran recently borrowed a friend’s car to go check on his wife’s remains. The acquaintance went with Amran Aug. 16 to where he said he left his wife’s body. Acting on that information, troopers, with a police dog, searched the area and found the suitcase with Malik’s remains inside.
An autopsy will be done to determine the cause of death, according to a statement from Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr.
Amran, described as being about 5 foot 6 and weighing 140 pounds., was ordered held without bail by Judge Andrew Mandell at his arraignment yesterday, with his case continued to Sept. 24.
He was represented by a court-appointed lawyer, Michael Hussey of Worcester.
Early said that the couple’s child is being cared for by family members and that the state Department of Children and Families has been notified. 
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