Texas man faces murder charge after doctor stabbed to death at picnic table

Texas authorities charged a 24-year-old man in connection with the fatal stabbing of a beloved pediatrician on Saturday, a brutal killing in which investigators are continuing to search for a possible motive.

Dr. Talat Jehan Khan, 52, was sitting at a picnic table in the common area of her apartment complex in Conroe, Texas, about 40 miles north of Houston, when she was stabbed multiple times in broad daylight, Kelly Blackburn, the trial bureau chief for the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, told USA TODAY.

Police arrived around 12:30 p.m., and were unable to revive Khan, a Pakistani American and practicing Muslim. She died at the scene, according to the Conroe Police Department.

With the help of multiple witnesses, officers set up a perimeter and arrested Miles Joseph Fridrich, who had fled on foot. Fridrich has been charged with murder, according to the Montgomery County District Court website. As of Tuesday morning, he remains in the Montgomery County Jail on a bond of $500,000. No lawyer was listed for him on the district court website.

Civil rights groups, including the Texas chapter of the Council of American-Islamic Relations, are watching updates in the case after Khan's death raised questions about whether it was a targeted attack.

"At this time in our investigation, we have not found any evidence to support that this was a hate crime. The investigation is ongoing," Conroe Police Department Sgt. David Dickenson said in an email to USA TODAY.

Blackburn did not wish to comment on the question of a potential motive.

"We're still actively investigating every aspect of the case," he said. "There's still a lot of evidence that was collected that we're going through that may lead us in one direction or not, but I don't want to go there at this point."

Muslim civil rights group to launch investigation

Khan's murder led to an outpouring of grief from her family and friends, and the case has elicited concerns that she may have been targeted. The Council on American-Islamic Relations Texas Chapter in a statement Monday said it's monitoring the situation and plans to launch an investigation of its own.

"While the police have not released a motive for the killing, we want to assure everyone that we are in conversation with law enforcement agencies," the statement read. "We are unsure at this moment if this was a hate crime; however, given the tragic circumstances, we are paying very close attention to the investigation. We will continue to monitor the situation while we launch our own investigation and continue to establish dialogue with law enforcement."

'She's extremely loving, kind'

Mohammad Saeed, the president of the Washington Association of Pakistani Physicians, called what happened Saturday a "tragic loss" that was "deeply shocking." He said Khan's death has left the organization "in disbelief and mourning."

"We have lost a dedicated and compassionate professional who contributed immensely to the field of medicine and the well-being of our community," he said in a statement, adding that Khan was a member of the Seattle-based organization before she moved to Texas earlier this year.

Texas Children’s Pediatrics, where Khan worked for the last few months in an email said, "We are heartbroken to learn of the tragic loss of one of our highly respected and beloved physicians, Dr. Talat Khan. During this difficult time, we are providing supportive resources to our patients and employees while keeping Dr. Khan’s family and loved ones in our thoughts and prayers."

The Muslim American Leadership Alliance on Monday said Khan's murder was "senseless" and "tragic." The community nonprofit quoted Khan's oldest brother, Wajahat Nyaz, as saying, “A murder like this shouldn't go unpunished. It's bad for the community. It's bad for the entire country, so we want your support to get justice for her.”

“This is an immeasurable loss for our family, completely unexpected,” Khan’s niece, Mahnoor Mangrio, told KHOU. “She’s a Muslim, strong in her faith, those are identifiable traits about her. She’s extremely loving, kind.”

Attempts to reach Khan's family on Tuesday were unsuccessful.

She is survived by her two children: a 23-year-old son and a 14-year-old daughter.