Man charged with 'honour killing' of two teenage daughters testifies

"Absolutely not. I did not kill my daughters." Said said, the Arabic testimony was translated into English.

Said escaped arrest for more than 12 years after the murder of his daughters, 18-year-old Amina His Said and her 17-year-old Sarah His Said. Yasser Said, who faces an automatic life sentence if convicted, said he didn't appear because he didn't think he would get a fair trial.

The prosecution and defense said Monday dismissed the lawsuit that afternoon. A jury is scheduled to hear closing arguments on Tuesday morning.

Said, 65, worked as a taxi driver. A former police detective testified that his sister's body was found in a taxi on New Year's Day. In 2008, it was rented to Saeed at a nearby hotel.

Sarah Said was shot her nine times and Amina her Said her two times.

In a letter to the judge overseeing the case, Said said he was not satisfied with the "social activities" of his children, but denied murdering his daughters.

Said told jurors that the night his sisters were killed, he was taking them out to dinner because he wanted to "solve the problem." boy friend.

"I was upset because in my culture it's upsetting," Said said. He testified that he was born in Egypt, came to the United States in 1983, and later became a U.S. citizen.

Gale Gatrell, The sister's great-aunt calls these deaths "honour killings" . A relative murdered a woman to protect the honor of the family.

Prosecutor Lauren Black said in her opening statement that the sisters "became very scared for their lives" after Sayid "threw a gun to Amina's head and threatened to kill her." , the decision was made to leave. Black told jurors that Said was "obsessed with possession and control."

Said's ex-wife, Patricia Owens, testified that Said eventually persuaded her to return to Texas from Oklahoma.

Said testified that as he was driving to dinner with his daughters the night they were killed, he thought someone was chasing a taxi. . He said he didn't know who it was, but thought it might be a friend of his daughters.

"I never expected anyone to harm them," Said testified.

The jury overheard Sarah Said's 911 call from her cell phone.

"Help me," is what Sarah says on her 911 call. I heard "I'm going to die. Oh my God. Please stop."

Defense attorney Joseph Patton said in his opening statement that the evidence did not support a conviction and that the police were quick to focus on Said. said too much. He also said that people can hallucinate in moments of extreme trauma, such as being shot multiple times. He testified that he saw him in a taxi with his father the night he was arrested.

Yaser Said, who had been under a death warrant since the murders, wasplaced on the FBI's Most Wanted List.It is located in Justin, about 35 miles northwest of Dallas, where he was finally arrested in May. His son, Islam Said, and his brother, Yasim Said, were subsequently convicted of helping him escape arrest.