As police look into an Instagram account purporting to be from Ager Hasan, they say they’re doing so with some knowledge of the accused murderer’s activity beyond what has been made public.
“We are in ongoing conversations with Mr. Hasan through email, and encouraging him to turn himself in to U.S. authorities,” Waterloo Regional Police spokesperson Cherri Greeno said Tuesday.
Police allege that Hasan is responsible for killing Melinda Vasilije, his ex-girlfriend, by stabbing her to death on April 28.
Investigators believe that by the time Vasilije’s body was found at her apartment on Country Hill Drive in Kitchener, Hasan had crossed into the United States.
There was one reported sighting of him in Tennessee in late May, but otherwise nothing has been said publicly about the Hamilton man’s whereabouts.
Monday night, several photos and messages were posted to an Instagram account claiming to belong to Hasan.
“Truth is none of my friends or family members know where I am,” one reads.
“Initially I lived in a car for a few weeks but I was able to find a job and sustain myself. I also made some friends along the way. Will I get caught? Absolutely, look at what I’m doing now.”
The postings all disappeared within a few hours.
“Our investigators are currently looking into the posts,” Greeno said.
That investigation includes trying to confirm whether Hasan really made the posts himself, or if they came from somebody pretending to be him.
CTV public safety analyst Chris Lewis says he suspects Hasan did make the posts himself – saying he may be aping behaviours of criminals in popular culture.
“He’s trying to be this big hero on the run (and) gather some sort of a public following,” Lewis, a former commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police, said in an interview.
“Do we believe anything he has to say? I don’t.”
Police say they have no reason to believe Hasan has left the United States.
With reporting by Marc Venema
