MORRISTOWN — A jury today found Kashif Parvaiz guilty of murder in the Aug. 16, 2011 shooting of his wife, Nazish Noorani, on a Boonton street.
The jury in Superior Court in Morristown deliberated for slightly more than three hours over two days before declaring Parvaiz guilty on all counts, including conspiracy to commit murder, child endangerment, hindering apprehension and five weapons charges.
Parvaiz, now 29, of Brooklyn, arranged for a girlfriend, Antionette Stephen, now 30, of Billerica, Mass. to kill his 27-year-old wife, who was the mother of his two children, and wound him to make it look like a random bias attack or robbery.
The couple was walking with their 2-year-old son in a stroller when seven gunshots disrupted the quiet evening in the suburban neighborhood. The couple was in Boonton to celebrate the Muslim holiday of Ramadan with Noorani's family.
Stephen pleaded guilty to murder in May 2013 and testified against Parvaiz in the trial. She admitted using two weapons to shoot Parvaiz and his wife but said she did it under orders from Parvaiz.
Antionette Stephen, points to her former boyfriend Kashif Parvaiz as she testifies in regard to his role in plotting the murder of his wife, Nazish Nooran. Morristown, NJ 2/17/15 (Robert Sciarrino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
The trial lasted three weeks. Judge Robert Gilson in Morristown scheduled sentencing for April 24.
Parvaiz faces 30 years to life for murder and up to 20 years for conspiracy to commit murder.
The courtroom was silent as the jury foreman read the verdict. Parvaiz bowed his head as the guilty finding was announced. His attorneys did not look surprised.
Members of Noorani's family, sitting in the front row, looked misty-eyed as the verdict was announced but said nothing.
In a hallway outside the courtroom later, the victim's sister, Lubnar Choudhry, wept as she hugged her brother, Kaleem Noorani.
"It's good," Kaleem Noorani commented later about the verdict.
"We got closure, and we are happy that it's over and justice is served," he added.
In a statement, Morris County Prosecutor Frederic Knapp praised the verdict.
"Nothing will ever restore Nazish to her family," he said. "As her two young children grow up, they will never have their mother by their side ... This verdict, however, demonstrates to all of her loved ones that justice has been served."
Parvaiz's parents, who had been in the courtroom for most of the trial, were not present today.
Parvaiz's attorney, John Bruno Jr., said the parents wanted to be there, but he advised them it would take too long to travel from Brooklyn to Morristown after there was word of a verdict early in the day, at 10 a.m.
The parents are "very upset" by the verdict and the defense team is planning to appeal, Bruno said.
Bruno said he "wasn't shocked" by the verdict, "because we knew we had the deck stacked against us."
"Obviously, we were all very disappointed, but we knew we had an uphill battle with regards to all the text messages and emails that were allowed," Bruno said.
The jury heard testimony that Parvaiz told Stephen, her sister, Sandra, and another girlfriend, Yelena Belorusets, that he wanted to "get rid" of his wife and was talking about various ways to do it, including poisoning her or leaving her behind during a trip to Pakistan.
Those witnesses testified that Parvaiz had described his wife as "selfish" and "materialistic," a "bad mother" who refused to take their older son for treatment for his sickle cell anemia. Antionette Stephen said they concluded that the only way they could get the proper treatment was to kill Noorani so Parvaiz could gain sole custody of the children.
Antionette Stephen testified that she gave Parvaiz $12,000 to treat the sickle cell anemia. However, the boy's pediatrician testified that he did not have the disease.
During his closing arguments defense Aattorney John Latroracca holds up a photo of his client, Kashif Parvaiz with his wife, Nazish Noorani, right, and Antionette Stephen, his girlfriend. Morristown, NJ 2/24/15 (Robert Sciarrino | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
The jury also heard the reading of text messages between Parvaiz and Stephen showing they were planning details of the killing shortly before it happened, and saw a surveillance video of the pair doing target practice at a shooting range two weeks before the murder.
In addition, the jury heard emails Parvaiz wrote to two black magic companies during the two years before the killing, asking if they could make his wife leave him, disappear or commit suicide.
In recorded interviews with police after the shooting, Parvaiz initially said he and his wife were attacked by three men who called them "(expletive) terrorists" before opening fire. Later, he called the shooting an "accident" that was "not meant to happen." Ultimately, he admitted arranging for a friend to kill his wife, although he said the friend was a man named "Nomi."
In his appeal, Bruno said, he will contest the judge's decision to allow the earlier statements by Parvaiz. He said he also intends to fight as "legally infirm" the cooperation agreement signed by Antionette Stephen.
Under the agreement, the prosecution is recommending a 30-year sentence for Stephen, the minimum for murder.
However, Stephen's plea to conspiracy to commit murder also called for a 30-year sentence, even though 20 is the maximum. Stephen's attorney acknowledged the mistake but said it was a moot point because of the 30-year concurrent sentence for murder.
Had Stephen gone to trial and been convicted only of conspiracy, she would have faced 20 years, and not 30, Bruno said, noting the defense plans to emphasize that "distortion of the law" in its appeal.
John Latoracca served as Bruno's co-counsel in the trial. Representing the state were Morris County assistant prosecutors Matthew Troiano and Erin Callahan.
Ben Horowitz may be reached at bhorowitz@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @HorowitzBen. Find NJ.com on Facebook..