$50,000 Offered in Stafford Homicide

By URIAH KISER

NORTH STAFOFRD, Va. — Investigators hope a $50,000 reward will help lead to an arrest in a homicide turned cold case in Stafford County.

Samih Mostafa Sowan was shot and killed while inside his basement apartment in a single family home at 35 Fife Street in North Stafford at 7:53 p.m. March 1, 2011. After gunshots rang out, another occupant on the second floor of the house told investigators he heard the shots. He then went downstairs and found Sowan dead.

Sowan’s roommate was ruled out as a suspect, and witnesses two people fleed house following the shooting, jumped into a four-door, light colored, small or mid-size sedan, and speed off in the direction of Courthouse Road.

Sowan was a Jordanian a business man who owned two Subway restaurants in Stafford – the first in Aquia Town Center and later on Wapole Street near the Augustine Golf Club.

On Tuesday, the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office said an anonymous donor came forward with reward money in hopes it will help lead to an arrest.

“One of our main problems with Mr. Sowan, although he was a businessman in the community, he was a very private person. Not too many of his business associates in here in this community, or [his employees] knew a lot about is his private life,” said Stafford sheriff’s Capt. William Bowler, who works in the department’s unsolved crimes division.

Sowan, according to his brother, Samir, who spoke with PotomacLocal.com last fall, had business dealings in not only Virginia, but Baltimore and Washington, D.C. as well.

About a year before his death, Sowan was beaten with a pipe inside the same basement apartment where he was shot and killed. Following the pipe assault, Bowler said Sowan offered police few details about the beating.

Investigators are not completely convinced the beating and shooting are related, and they have more leads in the homicide case that they do the pipe assault.

“We don’t want to get caught in that trick bag and work our case tied to that one prior event,” he said.

The details of the investigation are being kept close to the chest, as police don’t want to give too much information away that might jeopardize their investigation.

Jamil Sowan told PotomacLocal.com he became frustrated with the department after it stopped providing the family with new information about the investigation.

“Sometimes it’s hard for family members or friends to understand why we try to keep that information close to the vest, but there are good investigative reasons for that,” said Bowler.

Anyone with information on this case is encouraged to contact Stafford County Crime Solvers by calling 540-659-2020.