$5 million bond set for man accused of killing his wife five years ago

The young children of an Afghan couple were likely home when their father killed their mother, prosecutors said in court Friday.

Spokane County Court Commissioner Eugene Cruz set a $5 million bond for Wahid Kashify, who faces one count of premeditated murder.

Friends of 24-year-old Arezu Kashify were tearful Friday as they watched Wahid Kashify being led into the courtroom in a green jumpsuit. Kashify arrived in Spokane Thursday after being extradited from the Netherlands, where he was held for two years. Kashify fought his extradition to the country’s Supreme Court, said Hannah Stearns, a deputy prosecutor.

That court agreed to extradite Kashify, who appealed again but ultimately was sent back to the United States this week.

The Kashifys came to the U.S. on a special immigration visa for people who worked with the U.S. military – Wahid Kashify was a translator and interpreter for the military, but left the area because he believed he was wanted by the Taliban, according to a 2015 profile of the couple in The Spokesman Review.

By 2019, the couple had two children, ages 5 and 1.

A friend told investigators Arezu Kashify wanted to start dressing differently, but Wahid Kashify forbade it. She believed her husband would kill her if she spoke to police, detectives wrote in court documents.

On May 26, 2019, Arezu Kashify was seen for the last time when she dropped off her children at a friend’s house. The next day, Wahid Kashify bought a plane ticket to Dubai.

On May 28, he got on that flight. On May 30, a friend reported Arezu Kashify missing.

Law enforcement found his car at the Spokane International Airport with his phone inside, along with a note containing the passcode and the couple’s address.

“There is a video or two videos that you can watch and judge,” the note stated. “Thanks.”

Detectives found a video on the phone of Wahid Kashify taking responsibility for his wife’s death. The contents of the video have not been made public.

Her body was found in the bottom of a freezer at the couple’s home on June 4, 2019. She was under trash bags covered with mats with typical freezer contents like food placed on top, Stearns said in court.

The Spokane County Medical Examiner said she was likely smothered, according to Stearns.

Investigators believe the children either witnessed the killing or at least were home at the time, Stearns said.

In August 2021, Wahid Kashify called Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Detective Marc Melville and confessed to the killing, Stearns said.

Kashify was arrested after attending a volleyball tournament in the Netherlands in 2022.

The $5 million bond is higher than is typically scene in Spokane County Superior Court, Stearns acknowledged before arguing it was necessary due to Kashify’s flight after the crime.

“This is someone who has been confessing to this murder for five years and still fighting extradition,” she said.

Kashify’s arraignment is set for July 30.