Family Says They Will Support Sacramento Man Facing Charges After Death Of His Brother With Down Syndrome
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Akram Husain, the man facing charges related to his own brother's death, went before a judge for the first time and is facing felony charges for involuntary manslaughter.
The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said it notified homicide detectives on March 8th of the suspicious death of Anwar Husain, 27.
Heidi Thompson says her youngest brother Anwar brought a bright light to their family. She said she'll miss him being silly and stubborn.
"Down syndrome is a limitation to a degree, it also brings a light and spirit to these humans," she said.
At the time of his death, Anwar was living at a North Highlands apartment with his older brother, after their father had died in January.
The details of his death, his brother's alleged involvement or where he died aren't known. Court documents don't reveal any details, but the coroner's office called Anwar's death suspicious.
Heidi said her family doesn't know what happened.
"I can't claim to know any of it," she said. "The detectives said there was an injury."
Appearing via live stream from his home, Akram Husain had his first court appearance Thursday. CBS13 was told he moved out of the apartment two weeks ago. Neighbors say they rarely saw him or Anwar.
"We never knew he was there because he stayed in his room the whole time. I only saw him once," Vicki Santos said
Thompson said she wants answers but will continue to support Akram, who she calls, "Aki" as he faces a big battle in court.
"We support Aki 100 percent. He has all of our support, our love, no matter what the outcome is. It doesn't change how we feel about him," she said.
Akram Husain is due back in court in late May.
Here is the full statement from Heidi Thompson's family:
"Anwar Mohammed Zakir Husain, Zaky, as we called him, meant the world to all of us. He was the baby of nine children and will always be our baby brother. A vibrant, young man with Down Syndrome who loved everyone he met. When he met his niece while he was in his teens, who was 6 months younger, he said he wanted to marry her. He was passionate and stubborn about what he liked and what he didn't like. He would sneak food that he was actually allowed to eat, but wanted to hide it for reasons only he knows. He also thought he was more independent than he should have and ran away a few times to prove his independence. Always a scare, but ended up back home soon. His super hero was the Hunchback of Notre Dame because he related to him from the movie as a young child. We will miss him growing up and are heartbroken that our time with him is no more.
We were all already going through severe grief with the loss of our niece, daughter, grand-daughter, cousin, sister, Molly Burgess, who was needlessly killed in a hit and run only 8 days before our brother, Zaky, died. We all surrounded Akram, who we affectionately call Aki, at the burial of our brother, Zaky, and our step-father assisted in placing his body in the grave during his Muslim burial. Aki was hardly consolable as we all gathered around him in support. Both of the boys had just lost their father and were devastated by that tremendous loss less than 2 months earlier. Although their father had a stroke a few years' back, no one expects their father to die or in those years have a change in their relationship from father/sons to caregiver at the ages of 24/27. They were raised in Bangladeshi culture as mixed race Bengali/Native American, but this was their first great loss of a loved one who they've known since birth.
Although, as a family, we've been estranged for many years due to divorce and miscommunications in the family, we weren't allowed to communicate or visit with them for 20 years. We've been communicating through Facebook for nearly 10 years and have been longing for this relationship with them for all these years. When his father died, this past January, we were hopeful at the possibility of this renewed relationship with both of them and have spent as much time with him as we possible could since Zaky died. Pray for our family, as we are seriously heartbroken at the loss of our baby brother, Zaky."
