Murdered Texas Sister’s Family Member: “This Was An Honor Killing”
Sarah and Amina Yaser Said were buried in a Muslim cemetery.
Patricia Said mourned the loss of her daughters at a Baptist service Saturday.
Mother and son remain in hiding for fear of their lives.
“I just want him to pay for what he did to my girls,” Mrs. Said said.
From an article by Tanya Eiserer:
Sarah and Amina Yaser Said looked luminescent in their pink dresses, a pink flower in each girl’s hair. One might have thought the sisters were sleeping were it not for the matching pink-lined caskets that held them.
Their Christian funeral service Saturday – followed by a Muslim service later in the day – served as a reminder of the promise their short lives held and the needless tragedy of their deaths. Police believe they were killed by their father, a 50-year-old cabdriver.
And the police presence was a reminder that the girls’ Egyptian-born father, Yaser Abdel Said, is still on the run.
Amina, 18, and Sarah Yaser Said, 17, who both attended Lewisville High School, were found shot to death in a taxi at an Irving motel Tuesday night.
Before the service, the girls’ mother and brother issued a public appeal for Mr. Said to surrender. Patricia Said said her husband needed to be brought to justice so that her “girls can rest in peace.” She said that she and her son would remain in hiding until her husband is captured.
“I just want him to pay for what he did to my girls,” Mrs. Said said.
Gail Gartrell, the sisters’ great-aunt, said Saturday that Mr. Said had physically abused the two girls for years. Around Christmas, the girls’ mother – Ms. Gartrell’s niece – had fled because of Mr. Said’s threats to kill the girls after he learned they had boyfriends, she said.
“She ran with them because she knew he would carry out the threat,” Ms. Gartrell said. “This was an honor killing.”
She said her niece returned after Mr. Said told her that he would move out so they could reconcile. Within a few days, she said, the girls were dead.
On the night they were found slain, one of the sisters called 911 from a cellphone and said she was dying. Police soon found the two dead of multiple gunshot wounds in a taxi at a service entrance of an Irving hotel.
The funeral at the Rahma Funeral Home on Spring Valley Road highlighted the two vastly different cultures the girls had come from. Mingling among women wearing hajibs covering their hair and loose-fitting flowing clothing were teenagers and adults in Western clothing.
Robert Crisp, a Catholic priest, led a Baptist service, which was followed by a service at a Richardson mosque.
With the small chapel packed and mourners filling the lobby and spilling onto the front sidewalk, strains of the contemporary Christian song “I Can Only Imagine” filled the room.
“It’s certainly OK to hurt and to question – and to question even God – to be sad and angry and confused,” Father Crisp told the mourners.
Father Crisp said Sarah and Amina had brought joy and hope and should be remembered for how they lived, not how they died. He also mentioned that Amina had blogged that she did not want to be only a memory.
He called upon the crowd to use the girls’ lives as an example “to teach us love, hope and looking to the future.”
Friends also offered heartfelt recollections of the girls, well-liked students who excelled in athletics and academics.
Kathleen Wong, Sarah’s best friend, said she and Sarah had planned to go to college together.
“Sarah always wanted to be a doctor because she wanted to save lives,” Kathleen said. “She was more than just a friend. She was an amazing sister.”
The short Muslim service was at a gold-domed mosque in Richardson in a cavernous gym, with prayers piped across loudspeakers. The closed caskets were at the far side of the gym, end to end.
Dozens of Muslim men lined up in front of the girls’ caskets. About 20 feet behind them were women in hajibs. An imam then led a Muslim prayer.
Dr. Yusuf Kavacki, head of the Richardson mosque, alternating between English and Arabic, told mourners that all living things are destined to die. Another imam talked about families being the most important thing in Islam and the need for parents to work to keep their families strong.
(Dallas News)
Photos by Courtney Perry/DMN
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“All living things are destined to die”, another imam said “families are the most important thing in islam”, you lying POS.
You got it half right you muzzie Imam MF—
January 5th, 2008 at 9:32 pmAll living male muzzies are born to die, the sooner the better.
Get out of my country you sick bastards.
In the name of Jesus Lord reveal this man in hiding and protect our country from the lies of our enemy’s.
January 5th, 2008 at 10:53 pmI hope he is caught by an ex texas ranger with a temper.
January 6th, 2008 at 3:41 am“Another imam talked about families being the most important thing in Islam and the need for parents to work to keep their families strong. ”
Apparently Mr. Said didn’t get this part of the religion. Islam is a threat to our very existence and hopefully someone may see that.
I think mormonism is a cult but religious freedom is very important to them for obvious reasons. This my actually be an asset in the thought process of Mitt if he gets elected. I know thats a stretch but it worth talking about. The Huckster is an evangelical but so was Jimmy Carter and I think their governmental beliefs are not to far apart.
January 6th, 2008 at 7:19 amThe scum needs to be found and destroyed ASAP. After all didn’t the evil prophet of Baal Dr. Yusuf Kavacki, say, “that all living things are destined to die.”?
This is a job for an infantryman, not a cop. Find him, fix him, kill him.
January 6th, 2008 at 8:04 am“Dozens of Muslim men lined up in front of the girls’ caskets. About 20 feet behind them were women in hajibs.”
What more is there to say? In shitslam women’s lives are very cheap.
“…families being the most important thing in Islam…”
I call pure, unadulterated, major BS!
January 6th, 2008 at 11:40 amFamily is important by Islam tradition?!! Only if you are an Muslim male! Mothers, Sisters, and Daughter are treated like 3rd class human beings! In most so called enlighten Muslim countries most females will have little are no education and can’t drive are ride a car unless they have a relative male! They have to cover themselves while the pathetic corrupt Muslim males can dress almost any way he wants. As for any Muslim women think of being a politician you can kiss that idea good bye. It seem to me that the twisted culture has a deep hatred for females and that the Muslim female is only good for is to give birth to children (preferably male children) to carry the Father’s family name.
January 6th, 2008 at 1:34 pm