A father accused of murdering his two teenage daughters earlier than evading arrest for 12 years was “obsessed with possession and control”, prosecutors mentioned within the opening arguments of his capital homicide trial in Texas.
Yaser Said, 65, allegedly shot Amina Said, 18, and 17-year-old Sarah Said and left their our bodies in his taxi exterior of a lodge in Irving on New Year’s Day 2008 in a so-called “honour killing”.
Prosecutor Lauren Black informed the court docket that the sisters and their mom fled their Dallas house a couple of week earlier than the killings after Mr Said put a gun to Amina’s head and threatened to kill her, the Associated Press reported.
But Mr Said lured them again by convincing them he had modified, in what Ms Black described as one other act of “control” and “manipulation”.
Amina, left, and Sarah Said had been shot a number of instances by their father, prosecutors say
(The Price of Honor)
Yaser Said was positioned on the FBI’s most needed record after occurring the run for 12 years
(Irving Police Department)
The court docket heard that Mr Said was a domineering, violent and manipulative father who disapproved of her daughter’s courting habits.
“He controlled what they did, who they talked to, who they could be friends with, if they and who they could date,” Ms Black mentioned, in accordance with the Associated Press. “And he controlled everything in his household.”
Prosecutors learn an electronic mail despatched by Amina Said to her highschool historical past instructor a couple of days earlier than she and her sister had been killed during which she mentioned they didn’t need to reside by their father’s tradition and marry males “we don’t know or love.”
“I know that he will search until he finds us, and he will without any drama nor doubt kill us,” the e-mail learn.
The prosecutor informed the court docket Mr Said drove the ladies to a lodge parking zone in Irving, Texas, and shot them a number of instances inside his taxicab. Before she died, Sarah known as 911 to say: “Help, my dad shot me! I’m dying, I’m dying!”
Ms Black mentioned Sarah was shot 9 instances and Amina was shot twice.
Mr Said remained on the run for 12 years after the killings, and was positioned on the FBI’s Most Wanted List in 2014. The fugitive was lastly arrested in August 2020 in Justin, about 35 miles (60 kms) northwest of Dallas.
Mr Said’s son Islam Said and brother Yassim Said had been later convicted of serving to him evade arrest.
Defence legal professional Joseph Patton mentioned in opening statements that the police had been too fast to deal with the Egyptian-born Said and urged that anti-Muslim sentiment was an element.
He claimed that Sarah Said might have been hallucinating because of excessive trauma when she informed police her father had shot her.
