"Under no way, this is honor killing. The defense team claims that Said was targeted due to anti-Muslim bias. On Thursday, the mother of Amina and Sarah Said took the stand. At this time, you are nothing. Owens said that while she knew about her daughters boyfriends, the trio kept the information from her husband out of fear of his reaction. Patricia Owens, the mother of Amina and Sarah Said, took the stand Thursday. Speaking through an interpreter in his native Arabic, Said testified someone else is responsible for the crime, but investigators never found that person because they only pursued him. "You dont see a driver anywhere. Both are at home recovering. Chief Dallas County Public Defender Brad Lollar said the conviction will be appealed. "Something would happen to me or something would happen to her," Erik Panameno told jurors. Awful testimony in Yaser Said trial: Medical examiners explained autopsy pics; girls clothes. The father said he loved his daughters and is not to blame for their killing. Yaser Said had been a fugitive from justice since New Year's Day 2008, when he allegedly murdered his teenage daughters, Amina and Sarah. Cross examination is done with Patricia Owens (mom of Sarah and Amina) - who testified that when girls returned home days before their murders Yaser Said appeared happy; when Amina came back last he kissed her on the forehead and shed a tear. JUSTICE for Amina & Sarah Said: To interrogate Patricia Owens & and the It wasnt until December 2007, however, when prosecutors allege Said put a gun to Aminas head and threatened to kill her, that the teenagers and their mother began to hatch their plan to escape shortly before Christmas. Owens said on the day her daughter returned Yaser appeared happy and he kissed her on the forehead and shed a tear. Amina's boyfriend testified he and his father indeed saw Said and both girls in his cab shortly before the shooting and that they briefly followed them out of concern. Is that correct? DALLAS, Texas - Yaser Said was back in court on Thursday after an emotional day of testimony from some of the first membersof law enforcement to visit the murder scene of Said's two daughters. Shes spoken about why Yaser might have wanted to kill his daughters. He said the investigation of the crime was weak and the real killer was not identified. Amina Said was born March 2, 1989. The death penalty is not an option in this case. On cross examination, the defense tried to paint their outing in a positive light. Texas 'Honor Killing' Dad Yaser Said Molested Girls Years Before Liesbeth Powers/The Dallas Morning News via. Sarah suffered nine gunshot wounds, mostly to her abdomen, according to the medical examiner. Black said the sisters, both high school students in Lewisville, dreamed of becoming doctors, and that Yaser Said grew "angrier" as they grew up and became more educated and independent. They both were victims of their abusive father, Yaser, on several occasions. The Dallas Cowboys have wrapped up their 2023 draft after making eight selections. NBC 5s Maria Guerrero reports. In a letter written to the judge overseeing the case, Said said he was not happy with his kids' "dating activity" but denied killing his daughters. Yaser Abdel Said, a strict and controlling father, is suspected in the 2008 shooting death of his two daughters in Texas. He controlled what they did, who they talked to, who they could be friends with, if they and who they could date. I could see a young lady who had her eyes fixed open and there was stuff coming out of her nose, said Watson. She said she married him at the age of 15, with the permission of her parents after dating for three weeks and had three children with him over the next three years. The death penalty was not an option in this case. All rights reserved, a Lewisville man accused offatally shooting, Mother of Two Teens Killed by Said Gives Impact Statement, Prosecution Gives Reaction to Guilty Verdict in Capital Murder Trial, Said Defense Attorney Gives Reaction to Verdict, told jurors that he did not kill his daughters, finally arrested in August 2020 in Justin, were subsequently convicted of helping him evade arrest, Trial of Yaser Said Accused of Killing His Daughters Enters Second Day, Jurors Hear Victim's Chilling 911 Call in Trial of Man Accused of Killing Daughters, Testimony Begins in Trial of Former Most-Wanted Fugitive Accused of Killing His Teen Daughters, Trial Begins for North Texas Man Accused of Killing His Teen Daughters, 14 Years Later, Jury Seated in Trial of Man Accused of Killing His Teen Daughters, Trial Begins for Lewisville Man Accused of Murdering His Daughters in an Honor Killing', In August 2020 Said was arrested in Justin, TikTokers Are Touting Beef Tallow Treatments for Clearer Skin, But You Don't Know What You're Getting,' Dermatologist Warns, This 28-Year-Old Ignored Warnings About Job-Hopping and Doubled Her Salary to $186K in 5 Years, Texas Man Kills 5 Neighbors After They Complained of Gunfire, Dallas Retailer Tuesday Morning is Going Out of Business; Liquidation Sales Coming Soon, Mark Cuban Says He's Losing Nearly 1,000 Twitter Followers a Dayand Paying $8 for a Blue Check Hasn't Helped, Post-Military Life Can be Challenging for Texas Veterans and Their FamiliesThese Resources Can Help, Yaser Abdel Said, 65, was accused of killing his teenage daughters in 2008 in what prosecutors have called an "honor killing.". In a letter written to the judge, Said wrote that he was not happy with his daughters dating activity but he denied killing them. She said that Said left messages that he had changed and that he would leave the house if they didnt want him there. Yaser Said trial: Ex-wife testifies on day 3 | wfaa.com Amina very upset and angry, refused to go to her fathers house knowing he would kill her and she went to her boyfriends parents and called her Aunt Connie, "did you know my mom went back to my dad" she asked, crying and upset she told her aunt about her mother lying to her to get her back to Texas. Yeah, I'm sorry," she replied. Patricia Owens, who is . The girls were brilliant young ladies dreaming of nothing more than to live their lives as Americans and become doctors. Trial begins for father accused in 2008 'honor killings' of - AOL The capital murder trial of Yaser Abdel Said, a 65-year-old cab driver from Lewisville accused of murdering his two teenage daughters in a purported "honor killing" continued Thursday in Dallas with the girls' mother taking the stand. Said, who was arrested in August 2020 after more than a decade on the lam, has maintained his innocence and his lawyer has argued that he is being targeted by law enforcement for being Muslim in a post-Sept. 11 world. The evening the sisters were shot, their father wanted to take just the two of them to a restaurant, she said. Owens told the jury Said left messages on their cell phones begging them to come back. NBC 5s Maria Guerrero reports. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? "Initially, we were looking at the boyfriends originally, and then we focused on the defendant,"Retired detective RandallJohnson said. Said disappeared simultaneously with the girls' murders and eluded police and the FBI for 12 years before he was finally captured. The authorities think that the daughters were shot and killed around 7.30pm close to the Omni Hotel. They had been dating men who werent Muslim. Patricia Owens and 18 . Mother of two girls allegedly killed by their father tells trial he Ex-wife of Texas man on trial over 'honor killings' of teen daughters My dad shot me! On Thursday, the mother of Amina and Sarah Said took the stand. His defense said no one will testify they saw Said at the crime scene, adding police should have investigated the girls' mother or Amina's boyfriend. 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And he controlled everything in his household, prosecutor Lauren Black said during opening statements on Tuesday. "She didn't want to go back home, she would rather be dead than ever go back there," Moggio testified. We took him into custody without incident., Reports at 4, 5 @NBCDFW Day 4 of Yaser Said cap murder trial.This Bedford apt maintenance worker is who IDd Said in 2017. And he controlled everything in his household. Patricia Owens, who is Yaser Said's former wife and the mother of the girls, told federal authorities that members of his family had indicated to her "little remorse for the victims," and. Shes asking for help and she names her killer, her father, Yaser Said, Ms Black said. Im dying, yelled a frantic woman identified as Sarah. We took him into custody without incident., Reports at 4, 5 @NBCDFW Day 4 of Yaser Said cap murder trial.This Bedford apt maintenance worker is who IDd Said in 2017. Awful testimony in Yaser Said trial: Medical examiners explained autopsy pics; girls clothes. Calling All True Crime Fans I was scared not to go back, she told jurors. Brother of murder suspect Yaser Said hated him for killing daughters Shot at close range; muzzle touched Sarahs clothes.I see 6 holesME looking at Sarahs top (she was shot 9x) Amina shot 2x lost a lot of blood. In a Dallas County courtroom, Patricia Owens saw her former husband and the father of their children for the first time in 14 years. He said he assumed that he was the target and so he claimed he got out of the car at an Irving Transit Center where he assumed the girls would be safe. Black said Sarah Said was shot nine times and Amina Said was shot twice. A film made about the murders, "The Price of Honor," alleged the girls were killed by their father as an "honor killing," a cultural practice where someone is killed after bringing shame on their family. Said entered a not guilty plea Tuesday and faces an automatic life sentence if convicted. The murderer was my husband, and those girls were my beautiful, brilliant, talented daughters. You can also check out a post where Patricia laments the death of the girls. On New Years Eve, the day before the murders, they returned to Texas. And this is not acceptable," Ahmed said. Prosecutors continue trying to build their case against a father accused of murdering his teenage daughters. She said she urged Amina to return home on the day of the murders even though the teen said she feared for her life. You deserve a lot more than what the judge gave to you. The potential key piece of evidence was admitted on day two of testimony, despite objections by the defense who previously cautioned jurors their expert will later testify that the 17-year-old victim may have been hallucinating after being shot nine times when she named her father as her shooter. Instead, prosecutors say, Said shot the girls multiple times in the cab he drove and left them for dead outside a hotel in suburban Irving. You deserve to die, Owens said. Patricia Owens' face grew red and her lips pursed as she pointed to the man accused of killing her two daughters. In August 2020 Said was arrested in Justin and two relatives were arrested in Euless. His defence attorneys have claimed that he was blamed for the killings because hes Muslim. Before she died, Sarah was able to call 911 and told the operator, "Help, my dad shot me! Owens claimed she left Said multiple times during the marriage and described him as controlling. John Schingle testified the GPS in the taxi cab had been turned off the night before the murders. The charges were ultimately dropped after the girls recanted out of fear of their father, she said. The sisters boyfriends also joined them. https://t.co/dxERwZ2CM6. Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in, He controlled what they did, who they talked to, who they could be friends with, if they and who they could date. The abuse was permitted (or at least not stopped) by their American mother, Patricia. She was soft-spoken on the witness stand, but her message about how she felt about her ex-husband was loud and clear . "The doorman told me there were a couple of people in a cab that were hurt really bad and that I needed to come out to the front drive," he said. She said she urged Amina to return home on the day of the murders even though the teen said she feared for her life. There's no such thing as an honor killing, you kill somebody there's no honor to it. The next morning, on New Years, Amina's friend received a text message from Sarah asking Amina to call her mom. They arrived back in Texas on New Years eve when the girls learned that their mother was going back home to Yaser. You do whatever you want since you know how to drive. This is murder. However, Patricia herself, who married Yaser when she was 16, spoke about how he beat her. Ferez-vous la mme chose. Sarah and Amina Said deserve JUSTICE. Jurors heard a 911 call Sarah Said made by cellphone, telling the operator that her father had shot her and that she was dying. I am very happy now. Both men were charged with harboring a known fugitive and are now serving time in federal prison. Breaking down several times on the stand, Owens testified that her daughters, Sarah and Amina, told her in 1998 that Said had touched them. Defense attorney Joseph Patton said in opening statements that the evidence would not support a conviction, that police were too quick to focus on Said, who was born in Egypt, and suggested that anti-Muslim sentiment played into that focus. Said still managed to escape, said FBI. Yaser Said, who had been sought on a capital murder warrant since the slayings, was placed on the FBI's most-wanted list. He wanted me to go back to him and if I didnt go back to him, he threatened to kill me and my family, Owens said, adding that Said stated he wanted to kill her after she filed the charges. After the verdict, Patricia Owens, Said's ex-wife and mother of the victims spoke directly to him in a victim impact statement. In moments of extreme trauma, like being shot multiple times, people can have hallucinations, Patton said. The defense is also expected to try to discredit Sarah's chilling 911 call, played before the jury on Wednesday, where she said her father shot her. It is wrong for the government to generalize an entire culture, criminalize an entire culture, to fit their narrative, and to fit their objective, Patton said on Tuesday. If convicted of capital murder, Said would automatically be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The girls, who were both students at Lewisville High School, were reportedly shot multiple times by their father. The server is misbehaving. Cross examination is done with Patricia Owens (mom of Sarah and Amina) - who testified that when girls returned home days before their murders Yaser Said appeared happy; when Amina came back last . I left the car for them," he said. Patricia not getting anywhere with Amina took her by the arm telling her to hurry up they were running out of time. Police allege these were honor killings committed by an abusive, controlling and possessive father who was angry his daughters dated outside their culture and had left home recently. The girls' aunt, Connie Moggio, broke down on the stand as she identified autopsy photos of her nieces. Caught in 2020. https://t.co/R77vHTz043 pic.twitter.com/ApAbeA3VgF. On Wednesday, the prosecution played the 911 call allegedly made by Sarah on the night of her death. "Theres no forensic science to it.". Shortly after, her daughters recanted their sexual abuse allegations to the police. Saids abusive tendencies were evident early on when he sliced her leg open with a knife for refusing to have sex with him. She could have returned her daughters back to their father so the murders could take place as planned. I just thought he would, like, punish them, like take their phone away and stuff like that, she said. Even then, Amina refused to go back to the house, fearful of the repercussions. Breaking down several. Now prosecutors are picking at every issue in his story. When they were little, Amina and Sarah Said told their mother their dad abused them and they fledonly to return time and again to Yaser Saids control. Yaser Said sat emotionless, holding a finger to his ear to listen to the disturbing audio. Patricia made call after call to Amina begging her to come home throughout the day saying her father had forgiven her and they were all going to go out to eat but Amina again refused. A detective and construction worker were among the witnesses called in the trial of Yaser Said this Friday afternoon. "He will kill us," Amina wrote. And I feel the media was against me in a certain direction, that I would not get a fair trial," Said said. "If the FBI did their work, they would know, but they were looking for Yaser Said and they did not do what they have to do," he said. While she left Said several times throughout their marriage, Owens said she always returned out of fear. The mother must be charged with conspiracy to murder her daughters. Yaser Abdel Said ( Arabic: ; born January 27, 1957) is an Egyptian-American former taxi driver and convicted murderer. Either way, she failed to protect her daughters. "Her look was in fear, she didn't look like she wanted to be there," said Amina's boyfriend Edgar Ruiz. Yaser Abdel Said's Wife Now: Where is Patricia Owens Today? Authorities believe that the daughters were shot before 7:30 p.m. near the Omni Hotel. This is murder. The father told the courtroom that he only wanted to take his two daughters to dinner on New Year's Day 2008 but on the road in his taxi, he said he saw someone following them. The former wife of murder suspect Yaser Said testified on Thursday that she asked if she could go with him and their two daughters for dinner on the night of Jan. 1, 2008. I'm dying, I'm dying!". The girls' two boyfriends went with them to Tulsa, where they got an apartment. TX v. YASER SAID: Honor Killing Trial Retired Irving Det. On Friday, that phrase took center stage. The cause of death for both victims was listed as multiple gunshot wounds and homicide as the manner of death. Owens said her ex-husband was abusive and controlling and would look over the girls' phone records and would call numbers to see if they belonged to a boy or a girl. When prosecutors asked Owens if she knew what would happen when they returned, she replied, Part of me did. She said she married him at the age of 15, with the permission of her parents after dating for three weeks and had three children with him over the next three years. In the terrible case of honor killings, where Yaser Abdel Said shot his daughters Amina and Sarah, one role has remained murky throughout. 2023 Cinemaholic Inc. All rights reserved. Owens testified that she and the girls had just returned to their home in Lewisville, Texas, from Oklahoma, where they had gone to get away from Said. Patricia knew there was no way her daughters would return to Texas so she lied to Amina and Sarah telling them she wanted to put flowers on their grandmother grave and they would spent New Years Day at their Aunt Connies, the mothers sister. @NBCDFW https://t.co/X5svQKi9it pic.twitter.com/ZmIM6Lof1n, Prosecutors asked Owens if she had any idea what might have happened to her daughters when they left to eat with their father and she said, Part of me did. Owens claimed that she knew the girls had boyfriends and knew Said would be angry if he found out, adding that Said eventually found out about the girl's boyfriends and threatened one of the girls with a gun. Yaser Said Honor Killings Trial Testimony Harrowing | Crime News The father said he loved his daughters and is not to blame for their killing. A film made about the murders, "The Price of Honor," alleged the girls were killed by their father as an "honor killing," a cultural practice where someone is killed after bringing shame on their family. Texas father accused of fatally shooting his daughters. "Nobody said they saw him that night. And he controlled everything in his household, prosecutor says, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile, Mother of murdered girls calls ex-husband the devil in honor killings trial. Sarah Said was shot nine times and Amina Said was shot twice. Yaser Said: Trial shares graphic details in teens' murder - WFAA FBI had been in touch w/apt management bc Saids son lived there. Silence filled Dallas County District Court 7 Wednesday as prosecutors prepared to present the chilling 911 call made by a dying Sarah Said on New Year 2008. They all headed for Kansas to Patricias aunts home. Jurors heard the 911 call from a dying teenager killed alongside her sister in 2008. Amina suffered two gunshot wounds, including a fatal wound to the chest. We've received your submission. [ATTORNEY: "Yaser is apparently very happy to see his daughters again."] He said he regrets leaving them alone and denied killing them. Gimenez detailed the local and global search for Said who was on the FBIs Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitive list before his 2020 arrest at a home in Justin. Upon arrival Patricia tells her aunt the girls were going to run away with their friends and she couldnt let that happen, then Amina spoke up and said; "my mom said she always wanted to leave my dad so we let her come with us." Son of Yaser Said, FBI Ten Most Wanted 'honor killings' suspect, pleads As Owens testified, Said sat emotionlessly across the room. You can try refreshing the page, and if you're still having problems, just try again later. And I feel the media was against me in a certain direction, that I would not get a fair trial," Said said. Yaser was abusive.. A defense attorney for Said, however, insisted in opening arguments that his client was targeted because of his faithand that the calls to police only indicate that Sarah was in an extreme moment of trauma. Yaser Said's defense attorney, Joseph Patton, told jurors that Said was a suspect because he is Muslim, and that evidence would indicate the investigation was botched. Around the time, Sarah Said called 911 twice, stressing she was dying after her father shot her. Jurors also saw the orange taxi cab where she and her 18-year-old sister, Amina, were found shot to death. Defense team member Baharan Muse pressed whether anyone said that Said was at the hotel that night. Prosecutor Lauren Black has said Said was obsessed with possession and control.. Her father, she said, had made our lives a nightmare.. Lawyer Joel Patton claimed that some of Ms Owens allegations were untrue and that she was being led by prosecutors instead of independently answering questions. Patricia Owens, the mother of 18-year-old Amina Said and 17-year-old Sarah. The sisters were found shot to death in a taxi parked near a hotel in Irving on New Years Day in 2008. I was scared not to go back, Ms Owens said in court on Thursday. Dr. Brasheer Ahmed, with the Muslim Community Center in North Richland Hills, told NBC 5 in 2020, following Said's arrest, that murder was against Islamic principal. Part of me didnt" before saying, "I'm sorry.". Patricia Owens was just 15 in 1987 when she met 30-year-old Egyptian . He said nothing would happen to him.. Prosecutors say that Mr Said shot and killed his daughters on New Years Day in 2008. The defense questioned why law enforcement didn't consider anyone else to be a suspect. Said's defense argued Owens' story had changed so much over the years that she was close to becoming a suspect herself and also claimed police were fixated on blaming a Muslim man for the killings instead of looking at other potential suspects. She was soft-spoken on the witness stand, but her message about how she felt about her ex-husband was loud and clear when referring to him as the "devil.". The film furthers speculation the girls' father objected to his daughters living an "American lifestyle.". Yaser Said Honor Killing Trial Over Murder of Sarah and Amina Underway in Dallas HOMEPAGE Crime & Justice Chilling 911 Call Fingers Dad in Horrific Texas 'Honor Killing' Trial SMOKING GUN After. Patrica Owens, Yaser Said's ex-wife, testified before the jury Thursday morning and said why she fled her home with her daughters only to return days before they were killed. While she dropped the Garland charges, Owens said that in October 1998 she applied for a protective order against Said on behalf of her girls. In 1998, while living near Waco, Texas, Owens filed a report with the Hill County Sheriffs Office accusing Said of sexually abusing the two girls. Long after the murder, Patricia continued to be haunted by the deaths of her daughters. Their bodies were later discovered inside his cab, parked outside of an Omni hotel. She never went through with the protective order, however, because she and her daughters went back to Said.