Remains of missing Calgary senior found, but suspected killer also dead

Police previously arrested a Calgary senior's suspected killer, but the suspect died before charges could be laid.

The remains of a Calgary senior missing for more than two years have been identified.

CTV News has learned police had previously arrested Abdul Mufti’s suspected killer, but he died before charges could be laid.

Mufti’s daughter, Bakhtawar Qayyum Mufti, spoke to CTV News in 2023 following the disappearance of her 71-year-old father, and now tells CTV she was shocked to learn from police this month that her father’s remains were found in a field in the city’s northeast in 2024 and only identified last year.

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Investigators also told her who they suspected was responsible for the death – but said they didn’t have enough evidence to charge him.

“Shahbaz Ahmed was arrested in August 2023 in relation to the disappearance and murder of your father, Abdul Mufti, and was interviewed at that time,” police told her in a letter just this week. “Based on the information available, there was insufficient evidence to support a murder charge.”

Ahmed died Jan. 9 after he attacked a woman and was stabbed by her acting in self-defence in a northwest home.

“This coincidence raises grave concerns and clearly indicates that this case involves much more than what appears on the surface,” Bakhtawar told CTV. “This case raises critical questions about the enforcement of Canadian law.”

Homicide victim’s family kept in the dark for two years

Police have confirmed the human remains were located by someone walking in a field near 36 Street and Stoney Trail N.E. in October 2024.

It wasn’t until April 2025 that DNA analysis confirmed the match.

“After further testing, these partial remains were confirmed to belong to Abdul Mufti and his death as deemed suspicious,” said CPS in a statement.

While police would not confirm to CTV News if they were looking into Ahmed for Mufti’s disappearance and death, correspondence between family and investigators identify him as the main suspect.

“With the sudden death of Shahbaz in January 2026, the investigation has been significantly impacted. After reviewing CCTV footage, phone records, bank records, conducting witness interviews, executing search warrants and interviewing Shahbaz, no other suspects have been identified,” reads the correspondence.

“Unfortunately, due to the condition of the remains and the amount of time they had been exposed to environmental and animal activity, no cause of death could be determined. From an investigative perspective, the inability to determine cause of death presents a significant challenge, as police must be able to prove that a homicide occurred in order to lay a murder charge,” read the correspondence.

Mufti was reported missing from Falconridge on Aug 3, 2023, from his home at 200 Falworth Way N.E.

He was last seen on July 30.

Police executed a search warrant the following week at that home which at the time led investigators to believe the circumstances surrounding his disappearance were suspicious.

Investigators say his credit cards were also being used.

While police previously identified a person of interest regarding the theft of Mufti’s credit cards, that individual was released without charges.

CTV has confirmed it was Ahmed who was arrested in 2023 and later released.

CTV News learned that Mufti had been renting a basement suite from Ahmed.

Ahmed was killed after he lured and attacked a woman inside an Edgemont home, and police did not pursue charges, calling it an act of self defense in a non-culpable homicide.

Ahmed had faced several criminal charges but found not guilty in a couple assault investigations.

Justice studies professor Doug King at Mount Royal University says with the investigation still open into Mufti’s murder, there could be other leads investigators are pursuing.

“The police would maybe still be at the level of suspicion for things like, did someone aid and assist in the murder? [They] didn’t actually participate in the murder, but maybe counselled the murderer or conspired to commit the murder,” King said.

`You don’t want to show your hand that could tip off a suspect.”

Russell Paranich lives along Falworth Way N.E.

He says he was shocked in 2023 when police investigated the home Mufti was in and was surprised to learn that Ahmed had rented the basement out to him, but confirmed some unusual activity at the home before Mufti’s disappearance.

“There was an incident, I don’t believe it was ever resolved, and it has always been an interesting little tick in my brain, ‘Whatever happened to the fella?’”

Paranich says a vehicle was towed from the home, a fence erected around the property with a no trespassing sign and U-Haul truck moving stuff days before police executed their search warrant.

Bakhtawar, who lives in Pakistan, is still waiting for answers.

She is also calling on police to release her father’s remains to have a proper burial in Pakistan.

“Had proper investigations and due diligence been carried out at the appropriate time, my father would be alive today, and this tragic murder could have been prevented,” she said.