The police yesterday captured a Guyanese man in New York City suspected of killing his teenage daughter and a second woman last week in Henrico County.
According to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, New York police and officers with a U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force arrested Abdool Z. Zaman without incident shortly after 7 a.m. Tuesday in Queens, N.Y., the authorities said.
The report said that Zaman, 39, was identified as a suspect after Thursday’s slaying of his daughter, Vanessa Zaman, and Leona Samlall. The two 18-year-old women were shot and left to die at midday Thursday at the Oakmeade Apartments in the 200 block of Airport Place in the Highland Springs area.
The report said that officers were summoned to the scene at about 12:15 p.m.
Zaman faces charges of second-degree murder. Police have not assigned a motive to the killings or explained what prompted the alleged encounter between Abdool Zaman, of Orlando, Fla., and the two victims at the apartment complex in Highland Springs. Investigators believe the two women had been staying with Samlall’s mother and stepfather in an apartment one block from where they were shot.
Authorities said the family has told them that Samlall’s stepfather is the brother of Abdool Zaman, but investigators have not confirmed the relationship.
The report said that many questions remained unanswered Tuesday. Samlall once attended Highland Springs High School, but she withdrew in the fall of 2016. Henrico police confirmed she had been on a missing persons list for the past two years.
Vanessa Zaman’s mother, Saveeta Barnes, shared words of sorrow about her daughter’s death on social media.
“The loss of a child is like losing your inner soul,” Barnes posted on Instagram. “My daughter was my life and nothing will ever be the same. Always in my heart my baby girl.”
“My heart is torn into a million pieces,” Barnes wrote in another post. “I cannot bring myself to accept the reality of losing my love, my child, my firstborn, my everything. I wish I could rewind time my baby, I will see you soon. Mommy loves you to infinity and beyond my “lilo,” my lovee. Rest in peace my love, rest in peace.”
The report said it was unclear Tuesday whether Zaman has an attorney representing him.
Kevin Connolly, a supervisory inspector for the U.S. Marshals Service who oversees the Richmond area’s Fugitive Task Force, said Tuesday’s arrest was made after close cooperation with Henrico homicide detectives.
Connolly said Abdool Zaman’s last known address was in Orlando, Florida.
