CHRISTINE FERRETTI
The Detroit News
Mount Clemens -- A man awaiting trial in connection with his wife's September stabbing death committed suicide by slashing his throat with a razor blade in the Macomb County Jail on Friday, officials said today.
Mohammed Abdul-Fazal Chowdhury was found by a deputy conducting rounds around 4 p.m. Friday, Sheriff Mark A. Hackel said.
Chowdhury, 22, used a razor blade from a shaving tool available through the jail's commissary, Hackel said. "We believe this was a self-inflicted wound and appears as though it's a suicide," said Hackel. "It is still an open investigation. Obviously, we are talking to everybody in the unit."
Hackel said when the officer found Chowdhury, he'd already lost a significant amount of blood -- after slicing an artery in his neck -- and was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel. It's unclear how much time passed before Chowdhury was discovered.
Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi native, was accused in the September stabbing death of his wife and cousin, whom he wed in an arranged marriage in Bangladesh in late 2006.
Prosecutors said Chowdhury murdered his wife, Suraia Parbin Miah, 25, in the kitchen of the couple's apartment on 14 Mile in Sterling Heights and then called 911 from a pay phone at the complex to report a trio of men broke in and killed her.
The couple's 2-year-old son was sleeping when the murder occurred. He's since been turned over to relatives.
Police said Chowdhury changed his story several times after being arrested.
Chowdhury's attorney, Azhar Sheikh, said today he was shocked to hear about the suicide. Sheikh said he'd visited Chowdhury a couple weeks ago and said he seemed to be in good spirits.
"I've been in shock all weekend about it. When I talked to him, he was very positive, talking about preparing for the case ... never anything like that," Sheikh said today, adding Chowdhury had asked for lotion and T-shirts to wear underneath his jail uniform. "He was so positive."
Sheikh said over the weekend he learned that Chowdhury had been writing his wife's family letters, saying he was sorry and that her death was an accident or suicide and it "didn't happen the way everyone said."
Sheikh said Chowdhury's body is expected to be turned over to Miah's family today. They will be making arrangements to have him sent back to Bangladesh for burial.
cferretti@detnews.com">cferretti@detnews.com (586) 468-0343
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