South Asian Couple, Two Children Found Dead in Apparent Murder-Suicide in Dallas Suburb
- The bodies of Farman Sherwani and Layla Sherwani and sons Shaheen, 12, and Mateen 2, were found a few weeks after the couple’s daughter, Lyian, 4, died in a drowning incident.
Four members of a South Asian American family, including two children, were found dead in their home in Allen Texas, in an apparent murder-suicide. The victims were identified as father and mother Farman Sherwani and Layla Sherwani; their 12-year-old son Shaheen Sherwani and 2-year-old son Mateen Sherwani. The incident happened weeks after the couple’s 4-year-old daughter, Lyian Sherwani, drowned earlier this month. Investigators told local media that they believe the girl’s death was a factor in the murder-suicide. Police haven’t yet disclosed which person is suspected of killing the others, according to reports in local media.
Police reached the Sherwani residence on Aug. 28, around 8:45 a.m. in response to a welfare concern call, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. A relative notified police that they had been locked out of their house for about two hours and family members inside were not answering the door. When officers entered the residence, they found four people who were dead.
Farman Sherwani worked as a machinery mechanic at Mary Kay Inc., a multi-level marketing company. His son Shaheen was a fifth grader at Olson Elementary, the Allen Independent School District confirmed to KDFW-TV. “School officials told parents in a note Monday evening that a student had died unexpectedly,” the KDFW report said.
Members of the Sherwani family, friends and community members mourned the family on Aug. 29 at a funeral service held at the Islamic Association of Allen. The mosque also organized a healing circle where counselors were present to help members of the community cope with their grief,” according to the association’s Facebook page.
“Waking up to the news of losing a four member family all of a sudden is not something that anyone can be prepared for, family members or let alone anyone in the community, so it’s been a very heavy day for everyone in the community,” Imam Abdul Rahman Bashir told NBC News. “We reach out to the community to remind them of the importance of being there for each other, if someone needs help, to reach out to whoever it is that may trust to reach out in these tragic times.
Two years ago, the Dallas suburb faced a similar tragedy when two Bangladeshi American brothers were found dead along with four members of their family in their home. The two brothers, Farhan Towhid, 19, and Tanvir Towhid, 21, killed their parents, Farhan’s twin sister and their grandmother, who was visiting from Bangladesh. They were identified as Towhidul Islam; 54; Iren Islam, 56; Altafun Nessa, 77; and Farbin Towhid, 19. The murder-suicide was the result of a pact the two brothers made, according to a suicide note posted online. The note, written by Farhan and posted on Google Docs, was also linked to his Instagram handle. Both the Google Docs and the Instagram handle have now been removed. Both brothers were students at University of Texas at Austin and battled depression. Farhan Towhid withdrew from school in January. Farhan’s twin sister, Farbin Towhid, had a full scholarship to NYU, FOX 4 reported.