23 Years After Parsippany Murder, Suspect In Custody Again

PARSIPPANY, NJ— After nearly 23 years, a suspected murderer might stand trial for the 1994 killings he's accused of committing in Parsippany.

Mohamed Abequa has been wanted for almost 23 years after being charged with murdering his wife and kidnapping their two young children in July of 1994. Morris County Prosecutors have been working with Finland since September of 2016 to extradite Abequa back to the United States so he can stand trial, the Prosecutor's Office said in a statement this morning.

Shortly after the murder, Abequa and his children fled to Jordan, his home country, the Daily Record reported.

A lack of an extradition treaty at the time meant Abequa was not sent from Jordan back to the US to stand trial after confessing to the murder. He was instead tried in Jordan and sentenced to 15 years in prison, but was unexpectedly pardoned and released after just five years.

Abequa was detained in Helsinki, Finland in September 2016 on the original 1994 warrant.

"Upon learning this information, and in cooperation with various state and federal agencies, this Office made efforts to seek the extradition of Abequa from Finland. That process has been active and ongoing since this Office was first notified that Abequa had been detained," Paul Merkler of the Morris County Prosecutor's office said in a statement.

According to the Daily Record, Abequa allegedly strangled his wife, Nihal, in their Parsippany home after she filed for divorce. In the divorce complaint, Nihal said her husband was abusive and shoplifted.

The children were returned to the United States in August 1994 to live with Nihal's sister, who was named their guardian, with the help of the Jordanian government.

Full Statement From The Morris County Prosecutor's Office

In early September of 2016, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office was notified by the federal government that Mohamed Abequa had been detained in Helsinki, Finland pursuant to a warrant that had been lodged against him related to formal charges accusing him of the July 1994 murder of his wife, and the kidnapping of his two young children in Parsippany, New Jersey.

Upon learning this information, and in cooperation with various state and federal agencies, this Office made efforts to seek the extradition of Abequa from Finland. That process has been active and ongoing since this Office was first notified that Abequa had been detained.

Abequa had previously been charged by way of a criminal complaint on July 6, 1994 with one count of Murder related to the death of his wife. In August of 1995, Abequa was indicted by a Morris County Grand Jury for the crime of Murder, a crime of the first degree, and two counts of Kidnapping, also crimes of the first degree.

From July 1994 to the present, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office has taken repeated steps to obtain the extradition of Mohamed Abequa so that he can be prosecuted for the crimes that he is accused of committing in 1994. These efforts will continue.

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