Inmate cuts off penis and commits suicide

[SplitDik (imported)]

http://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index ... il_in.html

Authorities say Macomb Jail inmate cut off penis, slashed throat; Muslim leaders question suicide

By Jonathan Oosting | MLive.com

January 14, 2010, 7:51AM

mohammed-chowdhury-fox-2.JPGPrevious: Sterling Heights man charged with murder, had called 911 to say intruders killed wife

Local Muslim leaders want to know more about the apparent suicide of murder suspect and Macomb County Jail inmate Mohammed Abdul-Fazal Chowdhury, who authorities say used a razor to cut off his penis and slit his throat.

The gruesome nature of Chowdhury's death have led some relatives and local Muslim leaders to question whether he actually was murdered, and the Detroit News reports Sheriff Mark Hackel will meet with them today to discuss the investigation.

"People are beginning to believe it could have been a homicide in the jail," Kamal Rahman, president of the Hamtramck branch of the NAACP, told the Detroit Free Press. "There are some questions that need to be answered."

Hackel told the newspaper authorities originally investigated Chowdhury's death as a homicide but later concluded his wounds were self inflicted.

He also confirmed an attorney's account that Chowdhury's penis was not found, indicating he flushed it down the toilet before slitting his throat.

Of course if police reports are accurate, Chowdhury is no stranger to gruesome acts of violence. The Sterling Heights resident was in jail awaiting trial on a second-degree murder charge. Police say he murdered his wife in September, nearly beheading her after stabbing her more than 60 times in the face, torso, head and neck.

C&G News reports Detective Mary Whiting previously testified Chowdhury attacked his wife after she showed him a picture of her boyfriend, discussed divorce and implied their 2-year-old son was fathered by another man.