Monday, August 3, 2009

My son, Jibril Abdul-Qadir Mustafa

Bismillah ir Rahman ir Rahim. (in the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful)
My name is Abdul Halim Fadil Mustafa a/k/a Abu Jibril (father of Jibril). My beloved son Jibril Abdul-Qadir Mustafa was murdered at his residence on the morning of Feb. 24th of this year(2009) at around six o'clock that morning after he came home from work. He was found by his sister (my daughter) hung in the basement ,where he slept, by the basement door. His feet were on the floor as his body was leaning. He had a blue scarf around his neck. His mother and his step-father tried in vain to revive him. He was taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview and pronounced dead at 7:22am. His mother( my ex-wife) called me at exactly 9:00am to tell me my beautiful son, good companion and friend was dead. He was 21 years old.
What followed his death made it even more disturbing. According to his step-father (one of his daughters was also a witness) when the police (Baltimore County Police Dept) arrived, they did not take any fingerprints or secure the crime scene. They automatically assumed it was a suicide though no note was found nor any evidence that he jumped off of anything. Also as I mentioned, his feet were on the floor. My son also had a gash on his nose. The basement ceiling is low. I could easily put my hands on the beam that my son was hung from (I am 5'6"). This made me realized that my son was incapacitated (i.e., knocked unconscious) then hung.
I raced from North Carolina, where I moved to with my current wife and our children in June 2008, to Maryland almost immediately when I got the news. As a Muslim I was responsible to bury my son. I had to was his body as our religion requires and prepare him for burial. I along with 4 of his childhood friends who also relocated to Baltimore from New York, as we did in 1996, helped me wash his body. While washing his body, I noticed two circular burn marks on his left side of his chest above his heart. When I returned to N.C. I did some research on-line. I found that those marks were consistent with the wounds of a stun gun. This answered my question as to what incapacitated my son. But many questions remain.
My son was not an evil person. He was enterprising, dependable and reliable. My first born and I were close. After his mother and I divorced in 2002, I remained extremely close to him and my other 3 children, his siblings, from that relationship. Before I moved to N.C. I was constantly over to visit and once he was able to drive he would constantly visit me along with his siblings. His stepfather taught him how to buy and sell homes. Jibril and I would drive around the neighborhood which I resided in (Gwynn Oak) and look for houses to buy for this purpose. We often shared information on several topics which we had mutual interest. I was with him when he got the job which he held at the time of his death. Before he bought his last car we went car shopping; just him and me. I held him in my arms as soon as he was born. I taught him how to read and write. I taught him how to play football. I was there when he scored his first high school touchdown. I made all of his home games that year. My son made me proud. He was a "Shining Star", not a gangbanger,dope dealer , drug addict nor a negative person by any stretch of the imagination. Once I moved to N.C., we both work nights, we would talk on the phone while we were at work. My son and I had the perfect father and son relationship.

It is difficult at best to describe the pain of losing my first born especially when he was just beginning to experience real adulthood. He got approved for a loan to buy a home to reside in the day before he was murdered. He was a much loved individual. Everyone had the same opinion about Jibril. He was a mentor and a big brother to all of his younger siblings including those of my current marriage and his step-siblings of his mother's current marriage. He was a younger brother and friend to his older sister (of his mother's first marriage). When he was a small child we used to call him "Cool Mo J" (after the rapper Cool Mo Dee who was popular around the time when he was small), because of his calm demeanor.

This is the person that the BALTIMORE COUNTY POLICE DEPT AT NORTHPOINT STATION DID NOT KNOW. THEY FAILED TO INVESTIGATE MY SON'S MURDER. THEY CALLED IT A SUICIDE INSTEAD DOING THEIR JOB!

Unfortunately, I have discovered via internet that I am not alone. There are other cases primarily in Florida and Mississippi where other young and/or enterprising black men have been killed similar to my son. Their local police dept also called their deaths suicide though their famillies found no reason for that claim.
I am asking all that knew Jibril, family, friends, aquaintences to reply to this blog. If your son or relative was killed in a similar manner to my son's, please also reply. Finally if anyone have any information as to who killed my son and for what reason please reply.

7 comments:

  1. My name is Nia, a family friend. I dont even know what or how to wright what i feel about a person your care about who is no longer here. Jibril was more of a friend he was a cousin. I've knew him only for four years but it fealt like i knew him my whole life. He was just a pleasent,fun,loving and very indepndt person i knew. Jibril was one of those people that you just have to meet once and u fealt like you knew him your whole life, you dont get that feeling from alot pf people. I would always remember him being humorous and having a smile on his face.
    The last time I seen Jibril was back in oct of 08 when him and his family came up to vist. His family and i went to Dave & Buster to hange out, just thinking about it makes me want to cry beause we has a great time and that would be the last time I would see him again.
    On 2/24 will be a day i will never forget no matter what. I got a call from his cousin telling me that Jibril was found dead, at frist i thought i had a bad connection on my cell phone. So when he said it again everything went into slowmotion then the words became clear me . After that i dont recall much, i dont even remember going back to work. All i could remember is sceaming at work and crying about what i just heard. When i got the story of what his family knew so far i just couldnt belive it, I couldnt belive that he was dead and how he was found was even more unbeliveable. I know he wouldnt do anything like suicide, he was looking forward to alot of things this year. Once I heard the rest of the story I became in rage and sadden of how the officer went about the whole thing. Just keeping it a open and close case. To them a black men found dead with no note or not even asking people question about that day at all.
    I could go on an on, on how this whole thing dose not make scene. A sick person took a wonderful person from his family and friends so soon for nothing. He had a lot ofgoing for him and loved life in every way. I will forever be change from this sad tragedy. Ive lost a friend who was my cousin as well. I am very honored and pleased to have him in my life for the time I knew him. I pray everynight that there will be something or someone that will tell what happen to him, he has the right to rest in peace.
    This very sad misery has made me look at life in so may wasy for the good and bad, but the most part that stand out is that tomorrow is not always promise. You have to make the most out of what you have in life. Take the time to show the people around you that you care and love them.You cant always say goodbye but you can show when they do go that they are/was cherish. Losing someone is never easy but when they are taken by the hands of someone else makes it even harder.
    Life can be wonderful and life can be cruel but its also what you make of it. So what am trying to say live life and show the ones you love that you care about the in anyway you can.
    love u alway.

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  2. I was Jibril aunt. I'll never believe that Jibril death was anything else but a homicide.
    The day before his death i asked my son if he had spoken to Jibril, because they were planning to move in together. He said that he had been approved for a home loan and was looking for a house. I even saw the text from him stating he was still house hunting.
    The night before he died he was at work talking to his cousin. The were laughing and making plans about my sons move to Maryland. 10 hours later he was dead.
    Not once did the police call my son to verify Jibrils mood before he died.
    I had to watch my kids break down at the news of their cousins death. I can't stop crying to this day everytime i thing about my beautifil nephrew cut down at the beginning of his adult life.
    The sick person/s who did this don't deserve to wwalk this earth.
    The last time i spoke to Jibril he waas thrilled because i told him that he could have most of the furniture from my apartment the only thing he would have to buy was bedroom furniture. He was soo excited and thanked me profusely.
    That is not the mmind of someone who would kill themselves.
    The police in Dundalk really did not do their job. A phone call to one of the people who spoke to him last would have atleast wou;d have me believe they did a minimuim police work.
    My son and Jibril were about the same height, and the day of his funeral i went in the basement just to see how high the beam waas since i knew at my height 5'5", i could reach the ceiling. There was nothing he could of stood on that would not have him bent over, due to the fact that he ceiling was so low. He waa almost 6' tall.
    Jibril was a loving brother to all his siblings and stepsiblings. He would never have left his family with that last impression.He was his mothers right hand. I will always love him and he holds a very special place in my heart. My heart will alway be broken at the lost of such a pure soul. To know him wad to love him. i hope he has the peace he was not given in his death.
    Hopefully the police will be held accountable for doing such a horrible job
    Rest in Peace Jibril.....Your Aunt Jackie

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  3. Thank you, family for responding. This definately proves that Jibril was much loved. His mother has hired a lawyer to investigate the police reponse to his murder and lack of investigation of it. Only with the help of Allah (God) that I am able to deal with his loss day to day. When he passed I haven't fully gotten over my father's death (Apr. 2008). I dreamed about dad since he passed and I have had at least 3 dreams about Jibril. In the last one he was tending to a garden and he handed me the garden rake twice. Paradise according to our teaching is known as Al-Jinnah which means the Garden. This is a sign indeed he is in a better place. I pray that the curse of Allah is put upon his killer(s). In the Qur'an is says (paraphrasing)"That if you kill one human being (unjustly)it is as if you have killed the whole humanity." (I'll find an post the direct quote from the Qur'n itself next time, insha'Allah (God-willing))
    As more information comes in I'll will post it to the blog. Please if you know any of his friends ask them to reply also.

    peace and love,
    Abu Jibril

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  4. Jibril was my BESTFRIEND,COUSIN,and my BROTHER. The day he was takin from us I died with him. When I heard he was killed I felt like someone shot me in the heart. I spoke to him just a couple hours before he was killed and everything was good with him. We were suppose to get a place together so we were talkin bout things we were gonna do when I got out there. The last thing he said to me was imma get u money mike. If he had any problems with anyone or thing he would have told me. The lastr time I seen him we were with my family at dave and busters havin fun back in DEC. I never thought anything like this would happen to someone close to me especially someone so kind and caring. Every time I think bout him I feel so much pain in my heart. For the police to not do anything but write my cousins death off as "SUICIDE" makes me very made. They didnt even investigate or ask any questions. My cousins was to happy and lookin forward to movin in with me to commit suicide. Me and my family deserve Justice for Jibril. I miss Jibril so much and I wish he was here so I could here his voice. At night I sometimes cant sleep cause I use to talk to him when I was bored at night or I would check on him. My life will never be the same til there is justice for Jibril's death.

    R.I.P JIBRIL I KNOW U WIT GRANDPA NOW SO WATCH OVER ME AND FLY WITH THE ANGELS AND WE WILL SEE EACH OTHER AGAIN

    I LOVE U AND MISS U

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  5. Safiya,I am jibril cousin on his father side. And I miss jibril very much. I remember jibril to a caring and senitive young man. I remember good memeories about my cousin. Its hard to believe that he is not here physically with us everyday. i hope and pray that we have justice for him. I think about jibril all the time.Its hard for me to say everything i want to say because i still cant believe that he is not here. i remember that last time we as a family got to together. My cousin decide that we should go out and spend time with each other because we didnt get together like that as much as when we were kids. This is one of many memory i have to hold on too because someone took jibril away.
    I love you always and i miss u
    R.I.P my cousin we will get justice for u

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  6. I was texting Jibril all through that night. When he didn't respond I didn't make anything of it, the last text was a personal question so I didn't blame him for not responding. That friday I heard the tragic news over a mobile community we were both on, I didn't believe it at first. Afterall, his phone was still on, I even left voice messages, after the 24th before I found out that Friday. I knew he was a good person too. I never knew the whole story, now I do. I wish there was something I could do to help. I don't want this to go unjustified, not in this world anyway. - Jamie

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  7. http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll

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