Missing and Murdered Children

October 3, 2008 – 5p.m. PST

The FBI has joined the investigation. The Detroit Police questioned Tangena’s mother, Nilufa Begum, 24, today and questioned the boyfriend and Tangena’s caretaker, Jamrul Hussain, 27, today.
No arrests were made.

When Jamrul Hussain picked up his girlfriend at work and told her what happened at the gas station, they both went back to the gas station and searched for the little girl and then called police from the station.

Police say there is video of Jamrul at the gas station; however, his vehicle and Tangena do not appear any where in the video.

Jamrul Hussain is not Tangena’s biological father.
From www.freep.com:

Police said Tangena lived with Begum and her boyfriend, who have dated about five months, in Hamtramck. Begum has two other children, ages 8 and 7, who live with their father’s family in metro Detroit. Tangena’s father, who is also the father of Begum’s other two children, lives in New York.

7:30p.m. PST

According to Tangena’s mother when her boyfriend picked her up from work he would not immediately explain to her why her daughter was not with him. He just told her to come with him and when they arrived at the gas station he told her the story of leaving Tangena in the locked vehicle to go inside and buy her some candy and juice and when he came back out she was gone. She says she asked him why he did not immediately call police and he told her he was scared and wanted to wait for her.
From www.clickondetroit.com:

Tangena’s mother claims she can unlock the car door. She also claims that if she did get out of the car she would never leave her sandals behind, but they were left behind.

OK, now I am confused. The last seen wearing description stated she was wearing the gold sandals. This could be a simple slip, the mother giving a description to police of what she had dressed her daughter in that day before leaving for work and then later finding out the sandals were still in the car.

According to a witness who saw the boyfriend inside the gas station convenience store she said she recall seeing him walk back towards the juice area but did not grab a juice. He went to the counter and tried to purchase two packages of ‘Juicy Fruit’ gum with his debit card; the purchase was declined.

The gas station security guard assisted the mother and boyfriend in the search for Tangena when they arrived at the gas station. He said they searched approximately a nine-block radius for the little girl. Another person who appeared in an on-camera interview was the owner of the gas station. He stated in the ten years that he has owned the station there has never been an incident such as this and he also made a plea to whomever has the little girl to give her back to her family so she can be loved and cared for as she requires. He does not know the family.

The boyfriend was given a polygraph exam; the results were not given.

October 4, 2008 – 6:30p.m. PST

Jamrul Hussain, boyfriend of Tangena’s mother, and the last person to see Tangena was arrested this afternoon on an unrelated case. A teenager called police to report she recognized Jamrul Hussain from news reports as her attacker from an alleged February sexual assault. Police say he will remain in custody.

Prior to his arrest, he spoke to reporters regarding Tangena’s disappearance. He said he had wanted to take Tangena into the store with him but she was crying and did not want to exit the vehicle because it was raining. He claims he told her to stay in the car and he would be right back. He is now stating that he is sure he locked the front driver’s side door but did not check to see if the back doors were locked.

October 5, 2008 – 12a.m. PST

Reporters discussed the arrest of Jamrul Hussain with his girlfriend. She says the allegations are false and that her boyfriend of two months did not sexually assault the teenager making the allegations – she said her boyfriend was in love with the girl in question. So now it has been stated in the news that Tangena’s mother has only been with Jamrul Hussain for two months and not five months. Also, they have only been living at the current address for two weeks. I wonder if police have asked around in the neighborhood if anyone has ever seen Tangena. I fear the worst ending for this story. A reporter asked Tangena’s mother today if she had been out looking for her daughter. Her response was that she had not gone out to search because she did not have a car. Cadaver dogs were brought into the neighborhood where the family lives to search.

On another note, police stated on Saturday that initial media reports regarding a language barrier were incorrect. As evidenced by the on-camera interview held with Jamrul Hussain, he has a good command of the English language.

9p.m. PST

Tangena’s mother spent this afternoon with Detroit police searching Detroit, Hamtramck and other cities in connection with Tangena’s disappearance. Police did not elaborate about the search. Police are also interested in talking to anyone who saw Tangena during the week prior to her disappearance; this will help them create a time line.

October 6, 2008 – 11:45a.m. PST

Jamrul Hussain took a polygraph exam yesterday that according to sources lasted close to eight hours. Authorities did not release the results. Tangena’s mother is expected to take a polygraph exam as well sometime today.

Hamtrack investigators are in downtown Detroit this morning meeting with Wayne County prosecutors regarding the kidnapping and sexual assault investigation. Charges may be filed on that case later today.

3p.m. PST

Jamrul Hussain will be arraigned tomorrow morning in 31st District Court in Hamtramck on one county of kidnapping and two counts of criminal sexual conduct in the first degree.

According to the owner of the gas station other business owners claim Jamrul was in their business establishments prior to and after he was at the gas station. The owner of a bar across the street from the gas station claims Jamrul was there before he went to the gas station and he also came back to the bar after leaving the gas station. When he came back to the bar, he was allegedly looking for Tangena with two other men and at one point was searching for her in the bar’s bathroom. The owner of the gas station went to the FBI with the new information.

Jamrul told police he arrived at the gas station at 8:30p.m. however, the time stamp on the video clearly shows him entering the gas station convenience store after 9p.m. Also, on the video, Jamrul is shown walking around the store in an unhurried fashion. He is also shown attempting to make the $.70 purchase of the gum on his debit card which was declined due to lack of funds.

4:45p.m. PST

The FBI obtained search warrants for the Hamtramck home where Tangena lived with her mother and Jamrul Hussain. Police concentrated their search in the areas of the rear of the house and garage.

Tangena’s mother stands behind her boyfriend stating she does not believe he had anything to do with her daughter’s disappearance.

6:30p.m. PST

More was revealed today regarding the kidnapping and sexual assault allegations against Jamrul Hussain. The victim, a 15-year-old girl, claims that Jamrul used to try to talk to her when she walked to a from school in another area of Hamtramck.

The teen says her assailant took her to the home of another couple and kept her captive for six days. He told her he would let her go if she went to the police and told them she had run away from home. She was also threatened that if she told anyone the truth she and her family would be killed. The woman who lived at the home went with the teen to the police station to make sure she told authorities she was a runaway. The case was closed until Saturday when the girl saw Jamrul, her alleged attacker, on television regarding the disappearance of Tangena. She told her father that was the man who had taken her and kept her back in February.

Hamtramck Police detective Jackie Crachiola told reporters today that Jamrul is not cooperating with either investigation and does not believe he has done anything wrong.

10:30p.m. PST

FBI agents and Detroit Police spent five hours today searching Tangena’s home and the vacant home next door. They did not reveal if they did or did not find anything of value that might lead them to Tangena’s whereabouts. Police did say that Jamrul failed the 8 hour polygraph he took yesterday. That polygraph only consisted of questions related to Tangena’s case according to the reporter on the scene. Tangena’s mother was interviewed by the reporter but asked them to not film her face because she is tired. She just expressed her fear that her daughter might be abused by whomever has her and worries that she is not getting sleep or milk.

October 7, 2008

There was a lot of activity surrounding the rape allegations against Jamrul Hussain. First of all there was his arraignment on charges of kidnapping, two counts of rape, and use of a firearm during the commission of a felony. While he was standing in front of the judge listening to the charges, Jamrul all of a sudden lost his command of the English language. He told the judge he does “not listen to the big words”. The judge pretty much told him there was not going to be any arguments of whether he was guilty of the charges as this was just a hearing advising him of the charges against him. The judge told him to surrender his passport.

Reporters then went over to the alleged home where the teen was held captive and raped. They interviewed the woman who lives in the home and she told the reporter that she had been trying to help the teen because she could not talk to her father. She said no one was held prisoner in her basement. Not long after that interview she and her husband went to the police station and surrendered to charges of accessory to the kidnapping.

A search warrant was then served on their home and police and FBI agents were observed searching the home and digging up the back yard. I don’t like the digging up of the back yard part of this investigation because the search of this home is supposed to be related to the kidnapping and rape charges. Police did come away with evidence today regarding the rape. The investigator told reporters that evidence will be forwarded to the Michigan State Police Crime Lab.

On another note, I did notice that the woman who lives in this house shares the same last name as Tangena’s mother.

October 8, 2008

Mamunur Rahman Khan and his wife Hena Begum, friends of Jamrul Hussain, were both arraigned this morning in Hamtramck District court on kidnapping and unlawful abduction. These charges are related to the charges against Jamrul Hussain for an alleged kidnapping and rape of a then 15-year-old girl back in February of this year. Both Khan and Begum entered not guilty pleas through their attorney. Khan is being held on $500,000 bond and his wife is held on $50,000 bond.

One thing that struck me is the stark contrast of the demeanor of the 3 defendants when they appeared in court to face these charges. Yesterday, Jamrul appeared to have almost a flippant attitude with the judge. During today’s arraignment of Khan and Begum they were both crying as they stood before the judge and clearly looked as though they were sorry at least for the situation in which they find themselves.

Yesterday, during Jamrul Hussain’s arraignment, it was revealed that the teen was in the kitchen of her home making a sandwich when she heard a knock at the back door. She answered the door and it is alleged that Jamrul was standing there with a gun. He told her she had to come with him and she complied. He allegedly took her to the home of Khan and Begum and kept her confined in the basement of the home for a period of six days. The victim alleges she was raped in the basement by Jamrul Hussain.

Hamtramck Police have traveled today to Northland Mall to check out a tip they received regarding two possible sightings of Tangena.
From www.detnews.com:

Shawn Patrick Smith said Wednesday that police were looking at tapes from an area Home Depot store and from Northland Mall for evidence of Tangena Hussain, who has been missing from her Hamtramck home since Friday.

Smith is the attorney for Jamrul Hussain, no relation to the girl, who is being held on an unrelated rape charge. Jamrul Hussain, who is the boyfriend Tangena’s mother, Nilufa Begum, has denied any connection to the girl’s disappearance.

October 9, 2008

Tangena’s mother went to the police station today and submitted to a voluntary polygraph examination. The exam took two and one-half hours. After the exam, her attorney told reporters that both he and investigators are pleased. He did not elaborate on the results

Tangena’s mother has expressed her dismay at the refusal on the part of investigators to not believe her boyfriend’s account of what he says happened to Tangena.

October 12, 2008

On Friday night a prayer vigil was held for Tangena at the Detroit gas station where she was last seen according to Jamrul Hussain, her caretaker for that day. Tangena’s mother is still holding out hope that her daughter is out there and still alive.

Jamrul Hussain’s defense attorney says his client wishes he could be searching for Tangena. He is also worried because police and the public believe he had something to do with her disappearance; he assured his attorney that he is innocent.

Searchers spent this past weekend passing out fliers in the area of the gas station while investigators continued to serve search warrants at various homes in Hamtramck and Detroit. They searched the home on Saturday of Jamrul Hussain’s mother. Tangena’s mother has been staying their since the arrest of her boyfriend on kidnapping and rape charges related to another case.

October 14, 2008

Today marks day 13 of Tangena’s reported disappearance. The last time any media outlets in Michigan covered her story was yesterday. The Amber Alert is still in effect. Tangena’s father Mohammad Ahmed, flew to Michigan from New York this past weekend to aid in the search for his daughter. He spoke to reporters but preferred to remain off-camera. He told reporters he does not believe Jamrul’s account of what happened to his daughter. Jamrul remains jailed on charges of kidnapping and rape of a 15-year-old girl from an incident that allegedly happened in February of this year.

October 15, 2008

Jamrul Hussain and Mamunur Rahman Khan and his wife Hena Begum, friends of Jamrul Hussain, are scheduled to appear in court tomorrow. This court hearing will determine if there is enough evidence to move forward with the charges against them. Jamrul Hussain is charged with kidnapping at gunpoint and two counts of rape of a 14-year-old girl. Rahman and Begum are charged with harboring the girl in their home. The girl will testify tomorrow.

Jamrul Hussain’s attorney claims the charges against his client are false and stem from the teen girl being jealous of Hussain’s new relationship.

Also, Tangena’s biological father has added $5,000 to the $1,000 reward offered for the safe return or information leading to the safe return of his daughter, Tangena. He told reporters that he and Tangena’s mother were married for five years, divorcing in 2006. They have two other children, ages 7 and 8 years who live with his parents in Bangladesh.

As part of the investigation investigators were trying to establish the last persons who saw Tangena during the week prior to her reported disappearance. It is interesting that according to her mother, she and Jamrul are the only persons who saw her. I find that hard to believe. I can’t believe that Jamrul’s mother or sisters did not see her during that week.

October 16, 2008

It appears the state’s case regarding the kidnapping and rape of the 15-year-old girl is about to crumble. The judge rescheduled the hearing to November 6 because two witnesses have come forward saying there was a relationship between Jamrul and the girl prior to the alleged rape.
From www.freep.com:

…Two witnesses confirmed there was a relationship prior to this, said the lawyer for Jamrul Hussain, 24, who is charged with kidnapping and raping the 15-year-old girl. Attorney Sean Patrick Smith, as well as the Wayne County Prosecutor’s office and the Hamtramck Police agreed in 31st District Couort in Hamtramck this morning to reconvene Nov. 6 after further investigation of the claims…

So if it is determined that Jamrul did not kidnap her but there was a sexual relationship with the girl, I wonder if prosecutors will move forward with the rape charges. He is 24 years and she was a minor at the time of the relationship.

Tangena’s mother was in court as were several other relatives in support of Jamrul. His friends, Mamunur Rahman Khan and his wife Hena Begum were also in court to face their charges. Their court date was rescheduled as well and Khan’s bail was lowered to an OR; he was ordered to relinquish his passport.

Tangena is still missing and there are no new leads in her case.

November 2, 2008

One month ago today Tangena Hussain was reported abducted from a Marathon gas station in Detroit, Michigan. So far there have been many leads but none have produced either evidence of Tangena’s abduction or a body. The man last known to be with Tangena, Jamrul Hussain, the boyfriend of Tangena’s mother, remains jailed on another matter. He has taken one polygraph examination, which he failed and he and his attorney agreed he could take another polygraph on October 17. Some news agencies report that Hussain was too upset to take the second polygraph and it was not administered. Hussain’s attorney, speaking to the media, claims he tried to calm him down but was unsuccessful. The web site ClickonDetroit.com claims Hussain did take the polygraph but was so upset the examiner was unable to obtain any useful information. Hussain’s attorney claims his client is just really scared.

If Tangena is still alive, I bet she is really scared too.

On another note, police took blood samples from the home where Tangena lived with her mother and Hussain. The report came back indicating Tangena’s DNA did not match the blood samples.

November 8, 2008

Tangena is still missing and the rape case against Jamrul Hussain continues to unravel. Witnesses have come forward stating they had seen Jamrul and the alleged victim walking around Hamtramck kissing and holding hands earlier this year. There is also a photograph of the two together with showing the alleged victim with her arms around Jamrul’s shoulders.

Jamrul remains in jail and the rape charges may be down-graded to sexual contact with a minor. The charges against Jamrul’s friends, Mamunur Rahman Khan and his wife Hena Begum have been dropped, however, Khan is still jailed on an immigration hold. Apparently he failed to follow up on paperwork with the Immigration Department.

Hussain’s attorney, Sean Patrick Smith claims his client is being unjustly detained simply because Tangena is still missing. Well, I have to say that there is a good reason why he is being detained. He failed two polygraph examinations. I expect authorities to charge him with something soon because they can’t keep him in jail for too much longer without charging him. I suspect investigators do not believe Hussain’s claim that he left Tangena in the car. She never made it to the gas station.

November 21, 2008

Rape, kidnapping and weapons charges were dropped this week against Jamrul Hussain. However the rape charge was down-graded to two counts of sex with a minor. He will be arraigned on those charges in Wayne County Superior Court on December 4. Hussain’s attorney tried to have him released on bond, but the judge believes Hussain to be a flight risk because Tangena is still missing. Hussain’s attorney is outraged at the judge’s ruling and claims Jamrul Hussain is being wrongfully incarcerated.

Tangena’s mother, Nilufa Begum, says she misses her daughter and wants to know the truth about what happened that night. She wants Jamrul to take another polygraph exam so she can find out the truth, but she claim Jamrul is unwilling to do so. He wants to wait until the trial is over regarding the sex assault charges against him. Nilufa says Jamrul does not care about Tangena and he never speaks of her.
From www.freep.com:

“He talks, he says all these things; he doesn’t ask about my daughter,” she said. “He doesn’t care about her. He just cares about me.”

I wonder why she still accepts phone calls from him or visits him in jail if she has doubts about his innocence as it pertains to her missing daughter. She is right, he does not care about Tangena, and he really does not care about Nilufa; Jamrul Hussain only cares about one thing, himself.

The search for Tangena continues; however, leads have grown cold.

April 22, 2009

Jamrul Hussain is scheduled to appear in court on Friday April 24 regarding the charges against him for criminal sexual conduct. Those charges stem from his relationship with a 15-year-old girl. Hussain remains jailed on $125,000 bail.

There are no new leads regarding the disappearance of 2-year-old Tangena Hussain who turned 3 last Friday.

I was surprised to read that as recent as last week Tangena’s mother visited Jamrul Hussain in jail. One would think in view of the charges her boyfriend is facing and that he was the last person to have been taking care of her child that she would have declined to continue her relationship with Hussain. The article I read referred to Hussain as ‘her boyfriend’.

The FBI in Detroit announced today they are offering a $20,000 reward for information about Tangena. If you have information about Tangena please call the FBI at 313-965-2323.

January 7, 2009

I am not sure whether Tangena Hussain has been found but the AMBER Alert posted since her October disappearance was removed from the official National Center for Missing and Exploited Children AMBER Alert site. Strangely enough, the Michigan Association of Broadcasters still lists Tangena’s AMBER Alert as active as of today. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children still has her poster up on it’s website. I visited the Detroit Police website to try and get information and they do not list missing persons on their site. I also visited the Michigan State Police website and although there are a number of missing children from Michigan listed on their site, Tangena’s case does not appear there.

There is no recent news coverage to indicate Tangena has been found either alive or deceased.

If it does turn out that Tangena’s remains are found one day I wonder if she will be listed among the Jane Doe’s simply because some of her identifying information is incorrect. Tangena is from Bangladesh which makes her of East Indian decent. When a body is located investigators go through a number of different ways to identify remains including determining ethnicity. The clearinghouse for missing and endangered children designated by the United States Department of Justice is The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. In Tangena’s case they would ask to search the database for a two-year-old female of East Indian descent. Tangena’s information would possibly not be retrieved in the search results because she is listed as white. To make matters worse, the Michigan Association of Broadcasters lists Tangena’s race as American Indian or Alaska Native. How can such mistakes be made?

Maybe the AMBER Alert was canceled on the NCMEC site because there is an expiration date. I hope she has been found alive but things do not look good for this little girl.

FBI – Detroit: 313-965-2323

April 22, 2009: $20,000

Amber Alert Notification Tangena Hussain, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, October 3, 2008.

Santiago Esparza, Detroit Police Search for 2-year-old Girl, The Detroit News, October 3, 2008.

Tammy Stables Battaglia, Police Seek Missing Girl, 2, Detroit Free Press, October 3, 2008.

Amber Alert Issued for Missing 2-Year-Old, ClickonDetroit.com, October 3, 2008.

Amber Alert: Missing 2-Year-Old Girl, WXYZ.com, October 3, 2008.

Boyfriend of Missing Girl’s Mom Arrested, WXYZ.com, October 4, 2008.

George Hunter & Santiago Esparza, 2-Year-Old Hamtramck Girl is Still Missing, The Detroit News, October 5, 2008.

Boyfriend of Missing Girl’s Mom Arrested, Amber Alert Monday Update, WXYZ.com, October 6, 2008.

Police Step Up Search for Missing Girl, MyFoxDetroit, October 6, 2008.

FBI Searches Home of Missing Girl, WXYZ.com, October 6.

Tammy Stables Battaglia, Hamtramck Teen: Man Who Molested Me is the Last Person to See Missing Toddler, Detroit Free Press, October 6, 2008.

Man in Missing Girl Case Charged With Rape, WXYZ.com, October 7, 2008.

Police Search Yard of Hamtramck Home, WXYZ.com, October 7, 2008.

Search for Evidence in Hamtramck, WXYZ.com, October 7, 2008.

Couple Arraigned on Kidnapping Charges in Connection With Missing Child Case, ClickonDetroit.com, October 8, 2008.

Couple Charged in Amber Alert Twist, WXYZ.com, October 8, 2008.

Missing Child’s Mom Takes Lie Detector Test, WXYZ.com, October 9, 2008.

Anu Prakash, Volunteers Assist in Search for Tangena, WXYZ.com, October 12, 2008.

Kimberly Craig, The Latest: Search for Tangena, WXYZ.com, October 14, 2008.

Man Accused of Kidnap, Rape Due in Court, ClickOnDetroit.com, October 15, 2008.

Tangena Hussain’s Dad: This Case Does Not Make Sense, Detroit Free Press, October 15, 2008.

Tammy Stables Battaglia, Rape Hearing Delayed for Boyfriend of Missing Girl’s Mom, Detroit Free Press, October 16, 2008.

Man Linked to Missing Girl Takes 2nd Polygraph, ClickOnDetroit.com, November 2, 2008.

Tammy Stables Battaglia, Rape Charges May Be Reduced; Toddler Still Missing, The Detroit Free Press, November 8, 2008.

Tammy Stables Battaglia, I Want to Know the Truth,’ Tangena Hussain’s Mom Says, The Detroit Free Press, November 21, 2008.

Tammy Stables Battaglia, Man Linked to Tangena Remains Jailed, The Detroit Free Press, November 21, 2008.

AMBER Alert Michigan: Tangena Hussain, AMBER Alert Michigan, January 7, 2009.

$20K Reward Offered in 2-Year-Old’s Disappearance, Freep.com, April 22, 2009.