Texas Man Found Stabbed to Death After Going Out to Sell His Car

The body of a Richmond man was found in Houston, Texas, on Friday, Dec. 8. He had been stabbed to death while trying to sell his car to a buyer who had contacted him over the Internet. (Mark Ralston / Getty Images)

Police in Houston, Texas, said that the body of a father of four has been found after the man went missing on Tuesday, Dec. 5, while out trying to sell his car, ABC reported.

The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences identified the body found at an apartment complex in Houston’s Third Ward as 43-year-old Altaf Hussain Malik.

Malik was stabbed to death on Thursday, Dec. 7, at around 11:10 p.m., police told ABC reporters. His body was discovered by a resident taking out the trash on the 3000 block of Truxillo Street in Houston. The man called the police to report finding a dead body covered in trash bags in the vicinity of a dumpster, police told Chron.

Malik's body was discovered in the Third Ward district of Houston, Texas, according to the Houston Police Department. (Screenshot, Google Maps)

Malik had been stabbed multiple times by an unknown assailant, officer Ross Watson of the Houston Police Department told Chron.

The man’s wife, Quratulain Malik, told ABC that an unidentified individual had contacted her husband expressing an interest in a vehicle the family had put up for sale—a black 2009 Audi A8.

“He told me that he received a text on the phone and somebody wanted to see the Audi,” she said, according to KHOU news.

She said her husband left after dinner to meet the potential buyer, but never returned.

A resident taking out the trash on the 3000 block of Truxillo, Houston, Texas, found the dead body covered in trash bags in the dumpster on Friday, Dec. 8, and contacted the police. (Screenshot Google Maps)

KHOU ran a report on Thursday, Dec. 7, that the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office was asking for the public’s assistance in finding the missing man.

His wife made an emotional plea for help.

“Right now, we don’t know anything about that, what happened to him. And I was praying that he would be at home,” she said, KHOU reported. “The kids need him. There is a family who is waiting for him.”

The vehicle Malik had posted for sale on the internet was a black, 2009 A8 on Texas plates HZX-9910.

Malik’s wife said a potential buyer had expressed interest, it is reported, so he arranged a meetup at an H-E-B gas station at Highway 6 and Bellaire Boulevard.

Sgt. Dalia Simons of the Houston Police Department told KHOU that engaging in online transactions involves a higher risk of crossing paths with criminals.

“Whenever people advertise that they’re selling something online, that’s a good place for thieves and scammers to meet their next victim,” Simons told KHOU. Police urge anyone who may have information about Altaf Malik’s murder, or any other aspect of the investigation, to contact Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

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