More on the murder of the Lewisville Said sisters

Dallas Morning News:

...

Gail Gartrell, the sisters' great-aunt, said Saturday that Mr. Said had physically abused the two girls for years. Around Christmas, the girls' mother – Ms. Gartrell's niece – had fled because of Mr. Said's threats to kill the girls after he learned they had boyfriends, she said.

"She ran with them because she knew he would carry out the threat," Ms. Gartrell said. "This was an honor killing."

She said her niece returned after Mr. Said told her that he would move out so they could reconcile. Within a few days, she said, the girls were dead.

...

The funeral at the Rahma Funeral Home on Spring Valley Road highlighted the two vastly different cultures the girls had come from. Mingling among women wearing hajibs covering their hair and loose-fitting flowing clothing were teenagers and adults in Western clothing.

Robert Crisp, a Catholic priest, led a Baptist service, which was followed by a service at a Richardson mosque.

With the small chapel packed and mourners filling the lobby and spilling onto the front sidewalk, strains of the contemporary Christian song "I Can Only Imagine" filled the room.

...

The short Muslim service was at a gold-domed mosque in Richardson in a cavernous gym, with prayers piped across loudspeakers. The closed caskets were at the far side of the gym, end to end.

Dozens of Muslim men lined up in front of the girls' caskets. About 20 feet behind them were women in hajibs. An imam then led a Muslim prayer.

Dr. Yusuf Kavacki, head of the Richardson mosque, alternating between English and Arabic, told mourners that all living things are destined to die. Another imam talked about families being the most important thing in Islam and the need for parents to work to keep their families strong.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram gives more details on the family. Those who have suggested that the murders were not honor killings offer no alternative explanation for the killings. Whatever the motive, the murders are more evidence of the horrific violence that some Muslim men have visited on the women in their lives. The story seems to suggest that the whole family was afraid of this man and that the daughters were unlucky enough to be found by him. Hopefully police will find Said before he does anymore damage.

Thomas Lifson has more on Muslim domestic abuse in American and the NY Times "sensitive" way of discussing it.