E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
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.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
- Tsunami 'ghost ship' fired on by Coast Guard
- Mississippi on way to becoming 'abortion-free' state?
- Trayvon Martin: Where do we go from here?
- Cleaning pollutants tied to fueling hurricanes
- Audio released from 80-year-old who landed plane
Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook
Leave a Comment:
One day all religions will become extinct.
Probably all religions but Islam that is!
This story paints what most outsider think of Americans with racial hated being behind every killing,sad truth is most killing are by one who wants to dominated the other and when it doesn't happen they kill. To bad the news which loves to stir up hate (its good for circulation) and reports like TMZ no in depth or facts just story that sell! Both side were told only one had no facts at all!
I think most people have seen enough black people to describe them that way when they see them. If the guy had been black he probably would have been described that way.
I'm amazed that nobody has yet commented on the possible identity of the male that was sighted in the area. I mean, the daughter was recently "caught" in a car with a 21-yr old boyfriend of apparently middle eastern origin.
Who knows? The dad might actually be innocent of this murder and the daughter may never leave Iraq alive.
I wonder if the young man the daughter was caught having sex with had been questioned by the police at all. Who knows, the daughter may have set it up so she wouldn't have to marry her cousin and got her boyfreind to kill her mother. I hope there some serious investigation going on, because that note situation sounds very odd to me.
Culturally, she has shamed her family by not wanting to marry her cousin.
My oh my ignorance about cultures is so obvious here.
Not to mention her indescresions in the car!
I recall a lot of posters quickly jumping to conclusions when this first broke.
For me at least, the "notes" left behind was cause for pause.
That seemed a bit fishy.
We'll see what happens.
Want to know the truth about Islam and its agenda? Watch Pat Condell on youtube.
Agreed. Pat Condell really tells it like it is when it comes to Islam.
Agreed,
Especially interesting for instance is that he was never a big fan of Israel. Then he wised up. By not being afraid of change. Learning another point of view was not beneath him. Same process happened to me 7 years ago.
It's so awful that this family's business is out for the world to see!
It's not our fault (though someone in that family tried desperately to make it seem that way).
Every MUSLIM that has a Bad Day says it is because of an Infidel ...MUSLIM Men beat their wives routinely and sometimes beat them to death, and that is when the State gets involved. MUSLIMS give 20% of their earnings to their Mosque's, and the MOSQUE's FUND TERRORISMN ...Plain and simple all MUSLIMS are indirectlyTerrorists.
Many are direct terrorists, such as the ones that blew up the twin towers and killed 3,000 Americans in a day.
Ozard ..You are Brilliant Man ...So you say that those MUSLIMS are blaming we Infidels for all of their problems.? I totally agree Ozark, MUSLIMS are Knuckle Draggers from Medievel Times, that acquire modern technology and then use it against the benevolent souls that gave it to them. If we look through a book of Medical and Scientific inventions within the past 300 years there are NO MUSLIMS mentioned. They are ignorant Neanderthals and they will stay that way.
Ozark, I think you need to re look your history books. MUSLIMS were advancing mathmatics, medicine and astronomy while the "civilized" world was stuck in the "medieval times."
Hokum on the myth of the Islamic vanguard in math, medicine, and sstronomy.
ozarkdareidiot, you have made me lose hope in humanity.. really how can any sane person think like you? you need help or you need not say any thing at all you clown
raddave: Muslims stole the concept of algebra from the Hindus. Most of the great physicians in Muslim countries were Jews.
Muslims have contributed little if anything to the world's store of anything but hate.
Look at all the technologic and medical advances by tiny Israel, all the Nobel Prizes. And so few by the vast area of Islam.
Yes that is all true. But that is not to say they have some very brilliant minds over there. "Brilliant Mind " is not the only ingrediant for successful innovation. But they have Brilliant members of their society. We just don't hear about it. That we think they are ignorant sand-heads workd to their advantage. Never underestimate your advisary.
Yes there are brilliant (and not so brilliant) people all over the world. What I reject is this idea that any brilliance comes from the turgid, repressive, intolerant, spirit-stifling creed known as Islam. Whatever discoveries came from countries dominated by Islam came despite Islam, not because of it, imo.
Hi Adam
Don't get me wrong. I am no fan of Aytaollah-eque Iran. What I am saying is just because they don't win Nobel prizes that they have no smart folks over there. We like to dis them as a bunch of" ignant" sand -farmers. Look out. They need to be whittled down sooner than later.
Never underestimate the enemy.
Ditto Adam Islam is not condusive to innivation. Nial Fergusson summed it up elequantly in his "10 Killer apps " of th e civilized world. Have you watched it on you-tube yet?
Hi Ixor,
We are more-or-less on the same page i think.
Unlike some others, I make a sharp distinction between Muslims and Islam. I separate the two (or at least try to) constantly in discussions I take part in. Muslims are people like you, me, anyone else. Islam is a particular belief structure with particular features. I find many of those features, and much of that structure, to be destructive to the human spirit and also destructive physically in its calls for supremacy over other faiths (or no faith), and for holy war against anyone who resists its supremacy. I guess that makes me a "Islamophobe" which is supposed to be a bad thing. Well I am also a "Naziphobe." Is that a bad thing too? I am against ALL supremacist and violent creeds.
Having said that, I am not against Muslims qua Muslims. In fact, the only Muslims I am against are those who subscribe to supremacist Islam and seek to impose it on everyone else through Shariah Law. Of course, most Muslims are not so fanatical and just want to live their lives like everyone else. The problem, in my view, is simply the numbers. While every religion has fanatical fundamentalist types, Islam seems to have a vastly greater number than any other.
As to the question of intelligence, I most certainly agree with you that no one should ever underestimate fanatics of any stripe. Nuance may not be their strong suit, but it doesn't take a lot of nuance to organize, mobilize, militarize, and propagandize ordinary people to follow extreme agendas. Just look at how successful the Nazis were and there sure weren't any Nobel Prize winners among them either.
Egypt, to me, represents an even more appalling example of ascendant Islamism than what is seen in Iran. The Egyptian people have just given the Salafists (about 25%) and the Muslim Brotherhood (about 50%) a combined approx. 75% of the vote in recent Parliamentarian elections there.
Well, anyone, I'm rambling on now. It's getting late and I need to get some sleep.
I will check out the Niall Ferguson video you recommend. I like him quite a bit, and his wife too. (did you know that he is married to Ayaan Hirsi-Ali ?)
I hope you had a good weekend.
Hi Adam
We are definitely on the same page on all counts. You are far more eloquent than I. I have stifff fingers that slows typing. I wield the keyboard like a blunt instrument of force instead of careful, extensive pithy exposition etc. I'm glad to have guys like you around that have less of an ability to offend.
I didn't know that Niall and Ali finally tied the knot. I read her recent article and saw nail interviewed on Morning Joe a few weeks back. I thought they'd never have him back.
Its becoming more difficult to get updates to this story. If it involves a Islamic inspired crime it will get buried faster than you can say Twana Browley.
Oh, I offend plenty of people but my preference is to use arguments and win people over. Short of that I'm often a one-man wrecking crew, though occasionally I just manage to mash up myself when too worked up. Unfortunately there's a lot to get justifiably worked up over these days, so it's a constant struggle to stay in check so-to-speak. A inner battle I don't always win.
Come to think of it, I'm not sure they did either, but I am sure that they had a baby together. Either way, they are together and so far as I know, a happy couple. Good for them! Hirsi-Ali should be pictured next to the word "courage" in every dictionary, and Niall is a great, independent thinker / writer / teacher. Could use many more just like them. I hope they have about a hundred babies. :-)
Still haven't checked out that app you recommended but it's on my "to-do" list. Have a good day.
A formidable lady indeed. Not everyone that is born in an African village ends up a Dutch MP after a few years of life in the West. You just can't dis that. Unless you are a cleric issuing a fatwa.
Is it too much to ask that a person be able to pick their own spouse? I dont understand why these people come over here in the first place. Stay over there and live like an Iraqi or Iranian etc. Murder your wife, tell your kids who to marry, control everything from cradle to grave. It wont work out for you here.
if it is a cultural killing it reminds me of the christian taliban's & al queda in america's forcing women to be raped by their doctors through transvaginal ultra sounds. it is rape when there is penetration without consent. real men care and protect the women/girls in their lives wholly not just when it is convenient. this would include their well being physically, emotionally, & politically. sadly most men do not desrve the women in their lives for they are much to self centered. RIP SHAIMA from an american vet that served to protect the women gracing his life. i have 2 sons but cherish their wives as my own daughters.
everyone has a comment or opinion but we should let this thing play out for a while and see what comes up. i agree with most here that the islam is not a good way of life, in their opinion if you are not a muslim than you are their enemy. i believe here in America they put up a good face but they really are a danger to our and anyone's way of life. sorry everyone but true.
Given the daughters' "impurity",she is likely now dead in Iraq!If the old man ofted his wife,there is nothing to stop him from killing his impure and deceitful daughter!
This whole thing smacks of deceit. What is odd about the whole thing is that the mother is the one more inclined to maintain family honor by selecting her daughter's husband and demanding her daughter comply. Perhaps the husband was against the forced arranged marriage as well. But why murder her, this is a free country. Divorce is an unpleasant last choice and nobody has to obey the directives of an arranged marriage.
Killing somebody is inexcusable, and trying to blame it on Islamaphobia is devisive. I hope investigators nail this one down.
Gee...just like I said in a earlyer post. Her family killed her. Case closed
I want to see the Media Matters Bloggers eat their words!
I smelled a big hairy rat too!
Media Matters did not cover this story, nor any other news story. It is NOT a news source.
She was murdered in a most cruel manner. What other information is important?
We know from experience that Eastern Europeans murder their kin with regularity.
That needs to be proven in imparital American Courts, of course, but why the continued storys about something so obvious? I'm not saying they are guilty: I'm saying the continuing publication of such storys is meaningless and dumb. . . . find some real news.
Where did you hear that crap about "Eastern Europeans killing their kin with regularity?" Do you realize the Iraq and the Middle East isn't in Euope?
Had it occurred to you that maybe he was talking about Slavs?
We will question her husband as soon as he returns to the US. Does anyone know when he is supposed to return? What, he isn't coming back? That is weird. Isn't it a little odd that he was allowed to leave the US in the first place?
No, because he (and the two eldest children) left for the wife/mother's funeral in Iraq.
They are scheduled to return sometime in mid-April. Will be interesting to see if they actually return or not. I'm guessing NOT for at least one or two of them.
I smell another honor killing by these religious freaks.
Ban Islam and send them back home.
Or, at the least, ban the damn radicals and stop them from disseminating their hateful, supremacist Islam.
Yeah I called that one! Thank you all you RACIST Left A-holes that flooded MSNBC and other Blogs with your Anti American bs.
I hope you will go back and read your hate. You can check my posts I was RIGHT on!
As predicted days ago this will turn out to be another tragic case of domestic violence.
People sure were fast throwin out the race/ bigot card
Amazing that Al Sharpton isn't all over this one.
I've been saying from the beginning it was the girl (Apparently with an accomplice) There is no way in the middle of the day the girl sleeps through some one breaking in and then beating someone to death. The Mom had to be screaming bloody murder. Plus who does a home invasion armed with only a tire iron. Unless it's an inside job and you know exactly who will be there. The terror note was totally unbelievable and childish.
If they haven't made an arrest the father will be obligated to smoke the girl. How sad.
If I bought a home and found out that my neighbors are mooslum, I might as well burn the house the move far away!
Or start a pig ranch.
that is if you dont find out that they are the nicest people you will come across IF you treat them with respect. racist idiot
Tell that to the people in Europe, especially the raped women. Virtually all the rapes in Scandinavian countries are by Muslims. All they have to do is reach a significant minority and they try to take over OUR countries.
Apologist fool.
Uh, did you see the daughter's interviews on television after the murder? Like the one where she was talking about the racist "note" supposedly left at the mother's house previously and then the one just like it supposedly left by the body when she was killed? I didn't believe a word of it. First off, the daughter didn't seem at all upset that her mother had just been killed, and second, it was obvious she was making up all the "note" stories. Why? Because she did it.
People don't die easily. The mother had to literally be screamin BLOODY MURDER. No way she sleeps through that.
I demand an apology from the hatred spewing Iman from the Mosque that was so quick to judge.
yup
You can bet the Iman is disappointed now! He wanted this to be a hate crime so he could use it for propaganda against the infidels!
The police really messed up this case. It's highly likely an honor killing by the father or daughter. The police should have confiscated their passports until the investigation was complete. Now, there will be no justice. At least they won't be back here, though.
I think all mideast men should have a mental health examination before entering this country. They seem to have some serious problems and if they intend to live in the usa....they cannot bring their moronic culture and attitude to american. Heck why live here if you and your loved ones do not want to be free. It is a proven medical fact that mideast men have extremely tiny weenies and thus have a little man complex.