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Atef Hassan / Reuters
The husband of Shaima Alawadi, Kassim Alhimidi, holds a picture of his slain wife at her father's house in Samawa, 160 miles south of Baghdad on April 1. Alawadi, an Iraqi-American woman who was beaten to death in her U.S. home is a possible hate crime victim, although new court documents raise questions about family members.
Court records released Thursday show that an Iraqi immigrant who was killed last month in her California home had a rocky relationship with her teenage daughter and apparently was planning to divorce her husband, NBC San Diego reported.
No arrests have been made in the killing of Shaima Alawadi, 32, who died from blunt force injuries to the head.
NBC San Diego said the records include the description from a neighbor of a possible suspect running from the area of the house on March 21 about 45 minutes before her daughter Fatima called 911. Fatima told reporters and police that she discovered her mother unconscious in a pool of blood in their El Cajon home. Alawadi died in the hospital three days later.
A "dark skinned male" in his "late teens or early 20s" was seen running from the area, NBC San Diego reported, citing an police affidavit for a search warrant filed in Superior Court in San Diego.
The affidavit indicated 17-year-old Fatima was upset about the family's plan to have her marry one of her cousins, NBC San Diego said.
It noted that on Jan. 31, Alawadi called the police to report Fatima missing. The daughter was located 20 minutes later and the call was canceled, according to the affidavit.
The document says police records show officers answered a call reporting two people were possibly having sex in a parked car — a couple identified as Fatima and Rawnaq Yacub, 21. After Alawadi arrived to pick up her daughter, the teen reportedly jumped out of her mother’s car when it was moving about 35 miles per hour and was injured. In the hospital, she told paramedics she was being forced to marry her cousin against her will.
A search of Fatima's cellphone showed that while the teen was being interviewed by detectives, she received a cryptic text from someone that read: "The detective will find out tell them cnt talk'," NBC San Diego reported, citing the affidavit.
A note left near Alawadi on the day of her death called her a "terrorist" and sparked the theory that her killing was a hate crime based on religious or ethnic bias. Police have cautioned against rushing to that conclusion, noting that it was just one possibility that was being explored.
Mike Blake / Reuters
Mourners hold a candlelight vigil to remember Shaima Alawadi outside her home in El Cajon, Calif., on March 28.
The news site UT San Diego, which obtained the police records first, said a sheriff’s lab examination of the note showed that it was a photocopy of the message, not an original.
UT San Diego also reported that a search of the family’s cars turned up court paperwork — not yet completed — used to file for divorce. Another form requesting a waiver of fees had been filled out by hand with Alawadi's name, adress and phone number.
Alawadi's husband, Kassim Alhimidi, and Fatima are reportedly in Iraq, where they traveled for Alawadi’s burial.
The records initially were released inadvertently to UT San Diego by the the Superior Court in El Cajon, a press officer at the court said. Other press organizations were then given access to the information.
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Leave a Comment:
Sounded like an islamic"honor"killing from the beginning.Pretty tacky way to try to cover your tracks by trying to making it a hate crime.Silly muslims
A few thoughts....which one of the "rocket scientists" in law enforcement let the husband and daughter leave the country, let alone go to Iraq? Why weren't their passports confiscated and why weren't they placed on a "no fly list? Second, when are these "animals" going to realize that woman are NOT property and why was the daughter going along with the wishes to marry a cousin? Isn't that also illegal in the United States? And lastlly, will Barack Obama issue a statement saying that this woman could look like my other Muslim wife if I had more than one Muslim wife which is allowed by the laws outside of America! Can't wait to hear the "Inept One" and his take on this horror that I am sure goes on everyday in parts of the world!!!
When this story first appeared, it just didn't feel right, and this veteran newspaper reporter said so. Well, as sad as it is, it looks like I was right. Like I said then, who leaves a note. And who uses a tire iron. I hope police can wrap this case up soon with an arrest.
Didn't see this comin.... Oh wait, I DID
what has this story got to do with the fact that the woman was beaten to death. why these irrelevant stories? I don't give a @!$%# how her family life was, just catch the murderer
Personal opinion here, the daughter FATima & her sex crazed boyfriend were having sex in a parked car before the attack on the mom, and she was upset about being forced to marry her cousin (I would be too, but not enough to knock off my mom, or have my boyfriend do it), and now dad & daughter are in Iraq, they probably won't come back to face the issue?
The girl had sex with her boyfriend, over there she is a good a dead. I am surprised she left without kicking and screaming.
Hope they like living in Iraq.
I do find it terrible that they plotted to blame an American for this crime. I believe the whole family was in on it as a honor killing because of the divorce. The text message while the daughter was being interviewed is from an adult or person not familiar with the abbreviated lingo on text messages...it reads like a order to shut up and quit talking. Is it possible that the father didnt know about the sex in a car drama? Could the mother have been keeping it secret from the father in order to protect her daughter (too late now--daddy now knows)? Is it me, or does it appear in the picture of hubby that he is missing part of his right hand? Wonder what hand the killer used?
To the ones who say it is the same thing (about honor killing, and any man who kills his wife), no its not, granted the woman is still dead and it is still awful, but as others mentioned so-called "honor killings" are actually condoned and encouraged in certain areas and cultures, while it is not in U.S. (and other "western" countries). If a man kills his wife or daughter here he will be punished, if he does the same thing in some areas (like areas in Afghanistan, Iraq, etc) he will be praised and people will consider he did the right thing. In some cases even other family members (other then the husband or father) participate in the murder, and sometimes hundred of villagers. Don't put blinds on please because you are not helping the victims and potential victims of these so-called honour killings. Instead visit websites like stophonourkillings.com (it looks like their website has been hacked right now, but you can still see it) and violenceisnotourculture.org. Look up Du'a Khalil and Siddqa, and there is so many others.
Stop so-called honour killings and stoning.
Note: I meant "including the husband or father" or brother, instead of "other then ..."
A lot of us were warning all along that this was a family crime, probably by the father (statistically speaking the most likely), but also maybe the 17 y/o daughter who behaved so strangely on news video after the crime.
We were called xenophobes, racists, bigots, haters, etc., for not buying into that ridiculously transparent threatening note that was left at the scene, and stating the obvious; that a family member killed poor Shaima!
We were also castigated for not being "sensitive" to the grieving family. I even at one point said, 'Ok, my condolences to whatever family members were not involved in killing her!'
Well, now that the veil of secrecy is coming off the investigation, the truth is coming out: There never was some crazed racist-bigot targeting Muslim women in El Cajon CA., let alone targeting Shaima for wearing a hijab. It was all an attempt to mislead investigators, just as many of us stated. And it was slander, painting Non-muslim Americans as hate-mongering bigots who would stalk and murder a Muslim woman for wearing a simple hair-covering (NOT a face veil mind you). But of course our mainstream media elites gobbled it up like candy and gave it top billing.
The "hate" was there, alright, but it was hatred within that screwed-up family as information coming out now strongly suggests, wtih more undoubtedly to come.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2012/apr/04/records-hint-iraqi-womans-death-not-a-hate-crime/
It will be instructive to see how quickly NBC/MSN/NSNBC and the rest of the mainstream media elites BURY this story now that the hoped-for All-American Racist/Bigot/Xenophobic crazed killer of innocent Muslim women who only wish to modestly cover their hair, is going to be unmasked as a family affair, having nothing at all to do with so-called "Islamophobia" or any other bigotry against Muslims.
the simple minded(liberals) fell for it. Hook, line and sinker.
Many of them did, yes, because they wanted so badly for it to be true.
Lol
Ok so I had to say that, after all I’ve been surfing the vine for a few years now and I just love the way Americans can turn almost any topic into a left-wing/right-wing political debate, especially since the messages seem to be “if you are a liberal then you are a terrorist loving idiot who thinks your own countrymen are racist” whereas the other side says “if you’re conservative then you are a racist and so selfish you’d gladly let people die in the streets as opposed to giving them a buck” lol it’s all very funny to an “outsider” like me, although I have learned something from it, namely that extremist polarising partisan politics is a fast way to ruin a country :)
PS no Adam, I’m not going to a military academe (although when I get my degree I could teach there) I’m off to the University of Kent, which is supposed to be pretty good (or so the teachers there tell me lol)
Los, I personally don't think that "liberals" (i try to avoid the term myself) are terrorist lovers, but i do think they believe that most white Americans are intrinsically and incorrigibly privileged and racist. it's part of a a narrative that they have been telling for decades now where they obsess over each and every blight on American history, starting with the treatment of Indians, and weaving an unbroken line of crimes leading straight to G.W. Bush and his "Crusade" against Muslims.
Congrats on your acceptance into the University of Kent. We have a Kent University too in Ohio. I guess we won't be seeing as much of you once you start there. I posted a reply to you on the "other" topic a few minutes ago before i saw that you had migrated to here.
As for the general topic here, it should be interesting to see if and/or when the husband and two eldest children of Shaima al-Awadi return from Iraq. They were scheduled to come back by about mid-April.
Adam44
No offense but I’d bet that most liberals would say that they personally don’t think that conservatives are so selfish that they’d like to see people dying in the streets, it is however just an example of the extremist message being given out by both wings of American politics (from what I can see) in all the way both sides snipe at the other reminds me of that very famous Abe Lincoln quote “a house divided” anyway thanks for the kudos about university, and I’m sorry to hear about the funeral, you have my sympathies
Anyway in an effort to at least try to keep on topic :) I agree it will be interesting to see what happens if the family do come back
Yes, America is very much divided these days. Lots of vitriol all around because there is a lot at stake and people have very different ideas about where the country should be headed. We all pretty much agree that we're on the wrong path now though.
You are fortunate if England is not similarly split.
Did you view that WWII cemetery desecration video I posted on that other thread?
If not, here it is:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=f03_1330829653&p=1
Adam44
Hey Adam, yeah we are pretty fortunate over in England as our politics hasn’t taken on the polarising nature that American politics seems to have done, but as for why not I really couldn’t say, I mean I have heard one argument for why not is that because we have (at minimum) a three party system, being conservative (so right wing) labour (left centre) and liberal democrat (far left) it’s pretty hard to polarise people in the same way a two party system does but again I don’t know.
Also I did watch the video you posted and yeah I was pretty sickened by it, however I must admit that after I got over my initial emotional response (something the video was clear aimed a creating) I began to ask some questions like where was the proof this was a war cemetery? (as I didn’t see any in the video) and also I cannot help but notice all the people in the video were young kids, so my guess is they missed out on the true fighting and so wanted to trash something to stoke their own egos. Obviously that doesn’t mean I’m excusing what they did but in all the video did leave me with more questions than anything else
Hello Los,
I think that the video was made for the jihad community, to revel in their hatred of Non-muslims and celebrate their power to destroy (in this case symbols of) those who stand in the way of Islamic Supremacy.
Please Los, don't be lazy. Just Google "Commonwealth War Cemetery Benghazi Libya" and dozens of hits will appear with articles ranging from the BBC to Al-Jazeera, many of which deal with the desecration attacks on this (and other) cemeteries in and around Benghazi in late February.
I disagree with this characterization. There were some younger kids milling around (probably being groomed by the jihadists) but there were plenty of MEN in their Twenties (prime fighting age) leading the destruction of graves. They are no more "kids" than you are a kid, a description I doubt you would accept for yourself.
You make it seem like just some random vandalism. It wasn't. It was TARGETED against western war cemeteries and it was more than just one. There was also an Italian cemetery in another part of town attacked. And was it "to stoke their own egos?" Some personal power issue? If so, then why doesn't this kind of thing happen all over the world by young people wanting to feel powerful? True, there is some vandalism of cemeteries, but it is rare and it always happens at night because the perpetrators know that it is a shameful thing that they are doing. This desecration, however, was done boldly, in broad daylight, with pride. The pride comes from belonging to the worldwide jihad which has the mantle of Islamic supremacy attached to it. Why not it in broad daylight? What's to be ashamed of? They are PROUD to express their utter spitting contempt for Non-muslims and supremacy of Islam above all others. It's Nazism all over again. These are the Nazis of Islam, pure and simple. Storm Troopers of hatred and Supremacy. Most Muslims are not like this but unfortunately a few million ARE like this. A few million out of 1.3 Billion is a small % but still makes for a very LARGE PROBLEM. Plus they are a vanguard, just like the Nazis who led Germany and the world into WWII. Most Germans were not Nazis but they allowed themselves to be led by them.
Answers abound if you really wanted to look into it more.
Anyway, I hope you've had a good week.
Adam44
Hi Adam
It is possible that this video was made for the jihad community as a celebration of their power, however it is equally possible that it was made to sicken and offend westerns too which either way would make it a piece of propaganda, which I personally tend to be very dubious of as propaganda by its nature is meant to stop you thinking by presenting something in a way that is designed to trigger an emotional response, and I’m pretty sure (psychology not being my subject) that there have been some studies that say in effect “the more emotional you get about something the less reasonable you get about it”
Now as for asking about the war cemetery I should have phrased it better but basically I didn’t see anything in the clip to indicate it was a war cemetery, now granted I could look up the articles but I’m curios that since we know war cemeteries were trashed by these (expletives) then people just saw a clip of a cemetery being trashed and said “ah ha that must have been the war cemetery” the reason I bring this up is that I believe that trashing a war cemetery would generate are far greater reaction then trashing a normal cemetery, what with the reasons why most of those war graves got filled in the first place, which again would lead me to conclude that this is a piece of propaganda.
In regards to my kids comment I do concede this point here although I will admit I am rubbish at guessing peoples ages by their appearance (a fact that recently annoyed a lady friend of mine lol) but my overall point was that many of the people in said clip didn’t look middle aged, that they all looked young and thus wanted to feel big and powerful by destroying a symbol of the hated west, that in a way I doubt most of them really considered or even cared about the impact of their actions and if they were a tad older they may have not done it, but I really wouldn’t say that was the case for sure.
Finally as to the whole pride thing well that this act was done in broad day light I think doesn’t prove much after all I’m sure most people who want to trash grave yards would do so if there was no law around to stop them (like in a war zone that Libya was at the time) and they were the only ones with guns but yeah I saw a bit of pride but I’d have to ask was it pride for belonging to a global jihadi movement or was it the more simple pride of “look at me I’m so powerful I can trash this place and nobody can stop me”? I do not know – at this point I’d like to say I tend to refrain from Nazi comparisons as I find that people throw them around like they are going out of fashion but that’s more of a personal thing – so again after watching I am left with far more questions than I have answers.
Ps I know I could find answer to these questions if I dedicated the time to look, however I find that opinions on this whole subject (Jihadi extremism) are so polarised and extreme that trying to find a balanced view is almost impossible and I really don’t have the time to read through mountains of extremist views just to find a few grains of truth, but again that’s just me
PPs likewise I hope you too have also had a good week (mine’s been pretty good so far) and failing that I at least hope you haven’t had a stressful one, what with the circumstances you mentioned before
Fair enough Los. I wasn't sure you would even read my latest comment here since it had been a few days since I'd last replied.
I might have been a bit out-of-line calling you lazy (in this instance) but it was only regarding your skepticism that the vandalized cemetery was indeed a Commonwealth War Cemetery in Benghazi. I mean, if you watched the video all the way through there was a very distinctive 15 - 20 foot or so high stone cross overlooking the graves (near the end of the video) which the jihadists have placed a ladder against and are hacking away at. Any video or pictures of that cemetery show the same large cross, low wall, landscaping, etc. And then there were many news articles about this particular desecration video too. Many. So that's why I called you out for doubting the location. Not withstanding whatever other views are polarized or "extreme" over the topic, no one else that I'm aware of has doubted the basic fact of the attack(s) and what was attacked.
At any rate, I'm glad to hear that you've had a good week. I have too, actually, despite having a mild cold and my kids having the same. If you ever have children, get ready to be sick a lot in first few years.
Well it's about time for the husband, the 17 y/o daughter, and the 15 y/o son to come from Iraq. Should be interesting to see who comes home and who stays put....
So where is the husband now? Where is the 17 y/o daughter? They were supposed to be in Iraq for two weeks. It's now been about 3 - 1/2 weeks.