An Egyptian national faces trial in Texas over the alleged murders of his two daughters as “honor killings” due to their non-Muslim boyfriends.
This week, jurors in Dallas began hearing testimony on the 2008 murders of Amina Said, 18, and 17. Their father, 65-year-old Yaser Abdel Said, was legally residing in Texas and allegedly killed the teens and then went on the run for 12 years. He faces capital murder charges but prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty, according to Fox News.
Two of Said’s relatives, Islam and Yassein Said, received lengthy prison sentences last year for aiding in Yaser’s alleged escape. Prosecutors claim that on the day of the murder, Said claimed he would take the two girls in his taxicab to a restaurant in Lewisville, but instead took them to Irving, where he shot them.
The daughters initially escaped to Oklahoma and planned on starting a new life away from their father, however, their mother convinced them to return, the Dallas Morning News reported.
