Family, Community Hold Vigil for Doctor Stabbed to Death in Conroe
By Shannon Ryan
CONROE (KTRK) — A man has been charged with murder in connection to the death of a beloved Conroe pediatrician and mother. On Saturday, at 12:30 p.m., law enforcement officials believe 24-year-old Miles Joseph Fridrich fatally stabbed 52-year-old Dr. Talat Jehan Khan multiple times in the common area of her apartment complex.
ABC13 spoke with Khan’s family, who said she moved to the Alys apartments on Mansion View Drive in July with her 14-year-old daughter. Khan was working at Texas Children’s Pediatrics Conroe. “Everything in her life revolved around those two things – her kids, her son and daughter, and her kids she looked after as a pediatrician,” Khan’s brother, Wajahat Nyaz, said. During his interview with ABC13, Nyaz referred to his sister as a “kind soul.”
Khan’s neighbors told ABC13 that multiple people witnessed the attack, including several children. Among them was Matthew Amador. Amador recalled to Eyewitness News that he grabbed his Katana sword when he realized what was happening and ran after Fridrich, the suspect. “I said, ‘Hey, what are you doing?’ And just kind of spooked him,” he said. “(It) didn’t look like he was there, or was a person, blank face, real dark, you know, evil look in his eyes. He had gone and left three times before I even got there, and when I got there, he was checking her pulse to make sure she was alive and then stabbed her three more times,” Amador said.
Amador works as a firefighter but is currently home battling cancer. He said he had never seen Fridrich before the attack. According to a delivery driver who spoke to ABC13, the suspect reportedly lives under an overpass about three miles from the apartment complex. He said Fridrich often became upset when his store declined to give him food. “He acted like something was going on with him, like maybe he was doing stuff he shouldn’t have been doing,” he said. As of now, officials have not named a motive.
The Council on American Islamic, who said they are investigating the crime, released a statement regarding the Khan’s death. “Assalamu Alaikum. Regarding the doctor stabbed in Conroe yesterday: We at CAIR Texas pass along
our sincerest condolences to the children and family Dr. Talat Khan leaves behind. Inna Lilah Wa Inna Ilayhi Raji’oon. Allah grant her Jannah Firdaous, Amn. While the police have not released a motive for the killing, we want to assure everyone that we are in conversation with law enforcement agencies. We are unsure at this moment if this was a hate crime; however, given the tragic circumstances, we are paying very close attention to the investigation. We will continue to monitor the situation while we launch our own investigation and continue established dialogue with law enforcement. For the time being, we encourage the community to be vigilant and to keep the family in your Du’aa during this difficult time. May Allah make it easy for them. Amn.”
Mohammad Ayubi, Associate Director of the Al Ansaar Masjid, explained to ABC13 that Khan had been attending the mosque for a few months and was a “nice person.” Khan’s niece, Mahnoor Mangrio, said her aunt was “strong in her faith.” Ayubi said he had received several calls about the attack. “The community’s anxious. They want to know what happened. The police are investigating. We have to trust them, and we don’t know if it was a hate crime or if it was some crazy person doing something,” Ayubi said. “We hope there’s some clarity and things come back to normal. We have 300 to 400 families. They’re grieving.”
Ayubi said the masjid increased security after the attack, including additional patrols from the Conroe Police Department. Ayubi, while wearing a T-shirt with an American flag, explained, “We have to stand up as Americans. We are all Americans. This is our place of worship. I find myself an American Muslim and proud.”
Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) released the following statement on the murder of Dr. Talat Jehan Khan, a Pakistani and Muslim American pediatrician, in Conroe, Texas: “I am heartbroken by the brutal murder of Dr. Talat Jehan Khan, a beloved pediatrician who had recently moved to the greater Houston area. It is critical that our law enforcement officials conduct a thorough investigation into her killing. While we do not yet know the motive for this attack, we do know that Islamophobia and acts of violence against Muslim Americans are on the rise across our country. No person in the United States should experience—or have to worry about experiencing— hatred because of how they pray, what they believe, or who they are. My thoughts are with Dr. Khan’s family, the staff and patients at Texas Children’s Pediatrics, and the Pakistani and Muslim American communities in our district and across the country at this difficult time.”