Samiya Haqiqi was a 24-year-old law student at Quinnipiac College who vanished on November 12, 1999. She was last seen leaving campus after class, saying she planned to spend the weekend with family in Queens, New York, but she never arrived. Her black 1997 Volkswagen Jetta was discovered locked and abandoned on November 14 in a Little Neck supermarket parking lot; a gold necklace from her boyfriend Fahid Popal was inside the car and there were reported to be no immediate signs of a struggle. Haqiqi had called her family nightly and her disappearance was described as completely out of character, prompting the family to report her missing when she failed to show up.

Investigators focused on Fahid Popal, amid reports that Haqiqi intended to end the relationship. Witnesses described suspicious activity at an auto repair shop where Popal and his brother worked, including seeing a rolled-up rug carried into the shop. Fahid Popal was later arrested and convicted of Haqiqi’s murder; his brother Farhad Popal was charged with hindering prosecution and served no jail time. Haqiqi’s body has never been recovered, leaving unresolved questions about what happened and where she might be.