Local reports claim that a 29-year-old woman’s ex-husband traveled from Georgia to Chicago to murder her in an apparent murder-suicide. He did this after she had posted about her failed marriage on social media.
According to the Chicago Police Department (CPD), police responded to a call at 200 East Ohio Street in Chicago, on July 18, around 4:30 p.m., when they located Raheel Ahmad, 36, and his Pakistani-American ex-wife, Sania Khan, both deceased with gunshot wounds to the head.
Khan was described by an apparent friend as a “light that outshines all of us” in a Facebook posting.
“You were stepping into the next chapter of your life when you left us, and I hope that wherever you are this next chapter brings you the happiness and success you were always wanting,” Grant Townsend Moore wrote on July 19.
Police in Alpharetta, Georgia, where Ahmad lived at the time of their deaths, asked the CPD to conduct a wellness check on the 36-year-old after his family apparently reported him missing from the Atlanta area, according to a police report obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times.
CPD was also alerted by a Georgia officer that Ahmad and his wife were going through a divorce. Ahmad had traveled to Chicago in order to save their marriage.
Khan was a TikTok user who had posted videos about moving on from a toxic marriage prior to Khan’s apparent murder-suicide.
In a video she posted last month, she said that going through a divorce as an Asian woman can feel like a failure in life. It is difficult to leave a relationship with someone you love because of the way you are viewed by the community. This makes it more difficult for women to end marriages they shouldn’t have.
Another recent post showed a new tattoo with Roman numerals for the number 28. She stated that 28 was the year she got married, filed for divorce, and almost died. Others indicated a lack of support from her family for her choices.
After Khan’s death, her friends and teachers from Chattanooga, Tennessee created the Sania Khan Memorial Scholarship to honor her memory.
@geminigirl_099 Love yourself enough to walk away #breakups #divorce #southasian #desi #southasiantiktok #southasianwomen ♬ I Love You So – The Walters
@geminigirl_099 You’re a 💎 #southasianproblems #southasian #kendrick #southasianbaddies ♬ United In Grief – Kendrick Lamar
Carmen Valler was Khan’s former teacher. She recalled her as “a beacon for many communities” in a Facebook statement that Khan’s friend Coraleigh ONeal shared.
“CSAS is in deep mourning as we remember our brilliant, curious, and beautiful girl!” “It is not surprising to those who knew her that she spent her entire life recording beauty in the lives of others; her talent was always being able to celebrate the joy and radiance of others,” Valler stated.
