No hate crime charge in killing of doctor, but investigation ongoing

Police in the Houston area of Conroe say they have found no evidence that the seemingly unprovoked murder of a pediatrician enjoying the sunshine is a hate crime.

CNN reports that Miles Joseph Fridrich, 24, faces a first-degree murder charge in the stabbing of Talat Jehan Khan who was just sitting on a picnic table outside her apartment when she was stabbed multiple times.

Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Kelly Blackburn says he could not comment if the incident is being investigated as a hate crime, but said at this point they’ve found no motive.

Khan had just moved from Seattle months ago, according to KHOU11.

“This is an immeasurable loss for our family, completely unexpected,” Mahnoor Mangrio said tearfully. “She’s a Muslim, strong in her faith, those are identifiable traits about her. She’s extremely loving, kind. She was my aunt … the best aunt.”

Khan is a mother of two with a son and daughter.

“May Allah make ease for her and provide strength to her family to bear this loss,” the Al-Ansaar Islamic Center wrote in a Facebook post.

Neighbor Matthew Amador told ABC13 he was among those who witnessed the attack.

“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.