News Story
Texas mom tells 911 she used wire to kill children
By TERRY WALLACE, Associated Press Writer Terry Wallace, Associated Press Writer – Thu Jul 22, 4:06 am ET
DALLAS – A suburban Dallas woman accused of killing her two young
children told a 911 operator that she first tried to poison them
because they were autistic and she wanted "normal kids," then choked
them with a wire until they stopped moving, according to the
recorded call.
Irving police on Wednesday released recordings of the 911 call after
Saiqa Akhter was charged with capital murder in the death of her
5-year-old son, Zain Akhter. Police said the children were attacked
at the family's apartment Monday night.
Another capital murder charge is pending in the slaying of her
2-year-old daughter, Faryaal Akhter, who died Tuesday night, police
spokesman David Tull said.
In the recording released Wednesday, the woman identified herself as
Saiqa Akhter and repeatedly told the operator she killed her two
children. At one point, the woman hung up and the dispatcher called
her back.
"I killed both of them. I told you," she told the operator. Later,
she explained that both children were lying motionless on the bed in
the master bedroom.
"They are not doing anything. They are just blue and they are not
taking any breaths and ... their heart is not beating," she said.
She told the operator she initially tried to poison the children
with bathroom cleaner but they refused to drink it. When that didn't
work, "I used a wire on their necks," she said.
When the operator asked the woman why she attacked her children, she
said, "They're both not normal, not normal. They're autistic. Both
are autistic." Pressed further, she said, "I don't want my children
to be like that. ... I want normal kids."
Later, the dispatcher asked the woman what she was feeling.
"Nothing," she responded.
At one point, water could be heard running in the background and the
dispatcher asked what the woman what she was doing. She told the
operator she was trying to wash the smell of cleaner off of her
hands. The dispatcher then told the woman to go sit on a couch in
the living room and wait for police.
At the end of the recording, police can be heard arriving at the
home.
Akhter has requested a court-appointed attorney but one hasn't been
assigned to her case yet, an Irving jail official said. If convicted
of capital murder, Akhter could face the death penalty, though
prosecutors have not said if they will seek that punishment.
Otherwise, she could face life in prison without parole.
Saiqa Akhter's uncle, Wasimul Haque, told The Dallas Morning News
his niece had been depressed since moving into a new apartment in
Irving. Haque said Zain had autism and a severe speech impediment
but had been improving and was in speech therapy.
The children's father, Rashid Akhter, emigrated from Pakistan in the
late 1990s, the newspaper reported. He married Saiqa, who also is
from Pakistan, several years later, it said.
Zain was buried Wednesday in Richardson, another Dallas suburb.
Faryaal's funeral is scheduled for Thursday.