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Danish Minhas Hires High School Classmate Nur Mohamed to Kill His Mom

Friday, Jan. 15 2010 @ 1:27PM

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UPDATE: A third kid has been charged with serving as the bag man in the killing of Danish Minhas' mom. Plus, more details on how the teens were caught. See update after the jump...


On November 25, 43-year-old mom Tabassum Kham was stabbed to death in her Houston apartment. Police suspicion soon turned to her son, 18-year-old high school student Danish Minhas. He claimed he was out all the night when his mother was killed.

But that excuse didn't jibe with mom's strict Muslim household. Now we find out that Tabassum was murdered because of those very rules.

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Nur J. Mohamed was paid $4,000 to stab his classmate's mother to death
​Detectives say Minhas paid $4,000 to Lee High School classmate Nur J. Mohamed to have his mom whacked. Minhas, who was born in Pakistan, wanted her killed because he believed she was too controlling. (You can see his MySpace page here.)

Police agree with that assessment, but say the mother was only controlling in the way a good parent is -- enforcing curfew, making him do his chores, telling him to stay off the freeway, etc. Apparently the kid couldn't even handle these everyday restrictions.

The two boys made an odd couple. Minhas got good grades, worked in the high school office, and was involved with a youth law enforcement program. On the day his mom was killed, he was scheduled for a second interview with the Houston Police Department for an internship.

Mohamed, a Somali immigrant, was known as Lee High's resident drug dealer.

But Minhas wasn't the tough guy he hoped to be. Under police interrogation, he confessed to having his mom killed so he didn't have to do his chores.

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Danish Minhas lied about why he wanted his mom whacked, claiming she was a foster parent who abused him
UPDATE: Houston police say Danish Minhas told classmates he was plotting to kill his mom before the murder, but they didn't take it seriously enough to tell police.

Since the November 25 slaying, several students and friends have come forward to tell police they knew of the plot beforehand. But they didn't take it seriously. According to court records, Minhas also lied to Mohamed, claiming his mom was a foster parent who treated him badly.

Mohamed stabbed Tabassum Kham nearly 40 times during the attack. But in addition to lying about the identify of his mom, Minhas also stiffed the killer on his fee. He was supposed to pay Mohamed $4,000, but only came through with a grand.

Minhas is too young for the death penalty, and prosecutors are still deliberating whether they want to see Mohamed whacked. Both are being held without bail on murder charges.

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Kevin Haney, 17, is charged with serving as the bag man and disposing evidence
UPDATE II: 17-year-old Kevin Haney is charged with serving as the bag man in the murder-for-hire and disposing of evidence.

Nur Mohamed accidentally cut himself during the attack and had to seek medical attention. So he asked friend Kevin Haney to get the money from Minhas. He also had Haney destroy evidence from the crime.

The boy collected only $1,000 from Minhas, who stiffed Mohamed for the additional $3,000 he was supposed to get for the murder. But police say Haney wasn't in on the actual murder; he was helping a friend after the fact. "Haney was a willing participant as far as collecting the money (and) knowing what it was for," Sgt. Brian Harris told the Houston Chronicle. "He's not proud of it. There's no bravado."

We've also learned more about how the kids were caught. According to classmates, Mohamed was known for dealing drugs at the school. He was nabbed by a school cop two weeks after the slaying and charged with possession. When he was booked, his fingerprints matched those from the crime scene.

He confessed to the killing and fingered Minhas for paying for the hit. Minhas also reportedly confessed to police, but is now saying the murder is entirely on Mohamed. Good luck with that.