Waterloo Regional Police have confirmed that a 24-year-old Ontarian man accused of fatally stabbing his girlfriend in a murder believed to have been described on Reddit has been arrested in Texas.
Ager Hasan from Hamilton, Ont. was arrested Tuesday during a traffic stop conducted by the U.S. secret service in relation to a separate investigation in San Antonio, Tex., Insp. Mike Haffner of the Waterloo Regional Police told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday.
Police discovered Hasan’s 22-year-old girlfriend Melinda Vasilije dead from multiple stab wounds in her apartment in Kitchener, Ont. at approximately 3 a.m. on April 28.
Hasan is believed to have crossed into the United States hours after the woman’s death. He was caught on security footage switching the plates on his vehicle for Pennsylvania plates from another vehicle in a Walmart parking lot, police said.
Haffner said they also received a reported sighting of Hasan in Tennessee in May where it’s believed he was headed to the Mexico border.
A joint Canada-U.S. warrant was issued for Hasan on one count of second degree murder soon after Vasilije’s death.
Haffner said Hasan was arrested on charges of second degree murder along with three breach of recognisance charges stemming from a previous altercation at Vasilije's home on Apr. 3.
Police said they are working with U.S. officials to extradite Hasan back to the Waterloo region.
Police have said that Hasan and Vasilije had been dating for approximately one year and the alleged stabbing was a “targeted incident.”
The case gained national media attention in May after a Reddit user with the handle Redasblue101 claimed to tell Hasan’s side of the story.
In a post that has since been deleted, the user claims he went to Vasilije’s house to mend their relationship after the couple broke up a few weeks prior.
Redasblue101 also said he fled to the United States “to give myself some space and fully take in what happened before I turn myself in."
Haffner said police were in contact with Hasan throughout the investigation via email. He said they urged the suspect to turn himself in on numerous occasions.
Two days before his arrest in Texas, a post on an Instagram account believed to be that of Hasan’s said he was planning on coming home.
“It's time to end the dark path I've been traveling and give people the closure they deserve," the Instagram post reads.
Police have yet to confirm the authenticity of the Reddit and Instagram accounts. Haffner said the investigation concerning the social media posts is still ongoing.
“That information is part of the judicial proceeding and will be provided in court,” he said.
Hasan is expected to appear in a San Antonio courthouse for a hearing on Wednesday.
None of the allegations have been tested in court.
