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Cell phone evidence allowed prosecutors to link Syed, 51, to the
Aug. 5 murder of truck business owner Naeem Hussain in
Albuquerque, the Bernalillo County District Attorney's office
said in a statement.
Police previously charged Syed with the killings of cafe
employee Aftab Hussein on July 26 and urban planning director
Muhammad Afzaal Hussain on Aug. 1 in the same area of southeast
Albuquerque.
"Additional evidence deriving from cell phones came to light
enabling us to present the homicide of Naeem Hussain to the
Grand Jury," the statement said.
The grand jury indictment charged Syed with three counts of
first degree murder and four counts of tampering with evidence
for the killings of the immigrants of Pakistani and Afghan
descent.
Thomas Clark, an attorney for Syed, did not immediately respond
to a request for comment.
Police have said Syed is the primary suspect in a fourth murder,
that of grocery store and cafe owner Mohammad Ahmadi, 62, in
2021.
District Attorney Raul Torrez's office said it was working with
police to investigate Syed's possible involvement with Ahmadi's
homicide.
National Muslim advocacy groups have said the murders may have
been driven by inter-Muslim sectarian hate. Three of the victims
are from the minority Shia branch of Islam while Syed is from
the Sunni majority group.
However, people who knew both the victims and Syed said the
killings were primarily connected to personal feuds or revenge.
Grand juries operate in secrecy and are often used by
prosecutors to allow witnesses to speak freely without fear of
retaliation.
Federal prosecutors have linked Syed's 21-year-old son to the
Aug. 5 murder of Hussain.
(Reporting By Andrew Hay in Taos, New Mexico; Editing by Leslie
Adler and Josie Kao)
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