A capital murder suspect placed on the FBI’s Ten Most-Wanted Fugitive list for allegedly killing his two daughters in what has been described as an honor killing was captured after 12 years, the FBI announced Thursday.
FBI
Yaser Abdel Said, 63, was arrested without incident in Justin, Texas on charges related to the killing of his two teenage daughters in January 2008. Said is accused of shooting and killing Amina, 18, and Sarah, 17, in the back of his taxi in Irving, Texas after telling the two victims they were going for a ride to get food.
The #FBI joins our state and local law enforcement partners in announcing the capture of Ten Most Wanted Fugitive Yaser Abdel Said, a capital murder suspect wanted in connection with the homicide of his two teenage daughters. @FBIDallas https://t.co/Dtx26p8ZNt pic.twitter.com/AsGPoJQjCB
— FBI (@FBI) August 27, 2020
The Egyptian-born suspect was placed on the FBI’s list in 2014, and the suspect’s son Islam Said, along with his brother Yassim Said are facing charges of harboring a fugitive.
“Even after 12 years of frustration and dead ends, the pursuit for their killer never ceased. Today’s arrest of their father, Yaser Said brings us closer to ensuring justice is served on their behalf,” Irving Police Chief Jeff Spivey said in an FBI statement.
The slaying has been described as “honor killing,” which is the killing of a member of the family, usually a woman, who is thought to have brought dishonor on the family. Said was reportedly angry that his daughters were dating non-Muslims, and was unwilling to raise “whores as daughters,” family members have said. (RELATED: Dad accused in ‘honor killing’ will not face death penalty)
People close to the daughters said that Said regularly threatened to kill Amina, and would also spy on them while at work and on the phone, according to the movie “The Price Of Honor.” Said reportedly took Amina to Egypt to arrange a marriage with a much older man when she was 16, but she rejected the marriage.
His wife, Patricia “Tissie” Owens, told Fox News that Said’s brother had alluded to Said killing Amina and Sarah.
“Just hearing them talk and being around them the months that I was, I picked up on things,” she said. ” One of his brothers told me that I was really lucky that he [Said] left their bodies for me to find, for me to put my girls to rest. If it was him, nobody would find his girls.”
Yaser Abdel Said: CAPTURED!!! This dirtbag has been on my list for a long time. And, after 12 long years on the run, we finally see justice for Amina and Sarah. Great work @FBI and @IrvingPD. pic.twitter.com/hZcTqzy14l
— John Walsh (@john_walsh) August 27, 2020
“All I can say is, there’s going to be justice,” Owens told the Dallas Morning News. “My daughters were loving, caring, smart, loved everybody, would help anybody. They were two of the most awesome kids in the world, and they did not deserve what happened to them.”