-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- A woman who was beheaded near Buffalo , New York -- allegedly by her husband -- may have been on the phone with her sister when she was killed . Muzzammil Hassan has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of his wife , Aasiya Zubair Hassan . Asma Firfirey of suburban Cape Town , South Africa , told the Afrikaans newspaper Die Burger that she was on the phone with her sister , Aasiya Zubair Hassan , last week when she heard Hassan tell her husband to calm down . She said she heard Hassan say the two could talk about their impending divorce the following day . Then she heard something that sounded like her sister struggling to breathe , she said . `` I can only imagine how scared and emotional she must have been before she died , '' Firfirey said in the interview , reported in English by South Africa 's News 24 . Police have charged Hassan 's husband , Muzzammil Hassan , with second-degree , or intentional , murder in the death of his wife , according to the Erie County District Attorney 's Office . Her decapitated body was found at the offices of Bridges TV , the television network where Muzzammil Hassan was chief executive officer and Aasiya Hassan was general manager . Hassan told Orchard Park police his wife was dead , led officers to her body and was arrested Thursday , said Erie County District Attorney Frank Sedita III . He is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday . Orchard Park Police Chief Andrew Benz on Tuesday contradicted a CNN report that quoted him as saying Hassan confessed to the crime . A Buffalo attorney told CNN on Tuesday that he expects to represent Hassan but declined further comment , saying details had not yet been worked out . Hassan came to America from Pakistan 25 years ago and became a successful banker , but he and his wife were troubled by the negative perception of Muslims , Voice of America reported in 2004 . Speaking in December 2004 , Hassan said his wife , then pregnant , was worried about that perception and `` felt there should be an American Muslim media where her kids could grow up feeling really strong about their identity as an American Muslim . '' `` So she came up with the idea and turned to me and said , ` Why do n't you do it ? ' '' he said . `` And I was like , I have no clue about television . I 'm a banker . ... And her comment was , ` You have an MBA . Why do n't you write a business plan ? ' '' Bridges TV began as a television network for Muslim-Americans , aimed at overcoming the negative stereotypes associated with the religion . `` There should be a Muslim media , '' Muzzammil Hassan told VOA , `` so that Muslim children growing up in America grow up with the self-confidence and high self-esteem about their identity both as Americans and as Muslims . '' In the past few years , according to a former employee who asked not to be named for fear of retribution , Bridges TV transformed itself into more of a cross-cultural network seeking to bridge the gap between all cultures . Most of their employees were not Muslim , the former employee said , and Muzzammil Hassan himself was not devout . Aasiya Hassan filed for divorce February 6 , police said , and Muzzammil Hassan was served with divorce papers at the station . That night , he showed up at the couple 's home , she notified authorities and he was served with a restraining order . Police are not commenting on details of the crime , except to say the woman 's body did not appear to have been moved . They also would not divulge what Muzzammil Hassan told police or the suspected motive . The law firm representing Aasiya Hassan refused to comment , only confirming that she had filed for divorce . Benz told CNN on Tuesday that police had responded to several domestic violence calls at the couple 's address , but no one was arrested . Firfirey , as well as a Pakistani woman identifying herself as another of Aasiya Hassan 's sisters , characterized her as living in fear . Firfirey said the last time she saw her sister was in May 2008 , when she visited South Africa . When she arrived , she was badly injured , and Firfirey 's family paid the equivalent of about $ 3,000 for her to be treated , she said . Aasiya Hassan returned to America , she said , because she wanted to complete her MBA degree and `` did n't want to leave her children with that monster . '' She said she calls Muzzammil Hassan `` the fat man with evil eyes . '' Aasiya Hassan would have graduated March 6 , Firfirey said . A woman in Pakistan using the name Salma Zubair posted on a blog that she is the sister of `` this brutally murdered woman . '' `` She lived her 8 years of married life with fear in heart , '' Zubair wrote . `` He had already frightened her enough that she could n't muster up her guts and leave him , and when she finally did gather that much strength he killed her so brutally . She lived to protect her children from this man and his family and she died doing so . '' She said Aasiya Hassan `` had always been a very loving person , not even one person in this world can say a small wrong word about her ... she had always dreamed a life of a happily married family , which she did her best to achieve . '' Both women said they were worried about the couple 's children , ages 4 and 6 . Firfirey said they were being cared for by a colleague of the couple . Muzzammil Hassan also has two older children from a previous marriage . Members of Muzzammil Hassan 's family did not return calls from CNN on Monday . The former employee told CNN that Aasiya Hassan was popular at the station and was very kind . Muzzammil Hassan was known among employees for having a temper -- he sometimes would yell at and demean his wife , but at other times appeared to be a loving husband and father , the former employee said . Bridges TV released a statement Monday saying its staff was `` deeply shocked and saddened by the murder of Aasiya Hassan and the subsequent arrest of Muzzammil Hassan . Our deepest condolences and prayers go out to the families of the victim . '' Imam Mohamed Hagmagid Ali , vice president of the Islamic Society of North America , said Aasiya Hassan 's death serves `` as a wake-up call to call of us , that violence against women is real and can not be ignored ... the Muslim community is not exempt from this issue . We , the Muslim community , need to take a strong stand against domestic violence . '' CNN 's Mary Snow contributed to this report .