BUFFALO, N.Y. – The founder of a Muslim-American television channel has pleaded not guilty to murder in the beheading of his wife.
Muzzammil Hassan is charged with second-degree murder for the Feb. 12 death of his wife, Aasiya, at the offices of Bridges TV in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park.
The 44-year-old businessman was arraigned Friday morning and ordered held without bail.
Aasiya was stabbed multiple times and decapitated. The president of the National Organization for Women's New York chapter has condemned her death as an honor killing — a characterization local victim advocacy groups oppose.
The couple launched Bridges TV in 2004, saying they hoped to balance negative portrayals of Muslims.
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