Criminal logo

FBI's Most Wanted Capture - Yaser Abdel Said

The father who murdered his two daughters has finally been caught after 12 years on the run.

By Evie SinclairPublished 4 years ago 3 min read
Like

Yaser Abdel Said murdered his two daughters, 18-year-old Amina and 17-year-old Sarah, after luring the two into his taxi on New Year's Day in 2008.

The great aunt to the sisters, Gail Gattrell, described the deaths as an "honour killing." This type of killing occurs when a woman is murdered by a relative to protect their family's honour.

Several hours after the girls were killed, their bodies were found in his abandoned cab with several gunshot wounds. According to The Dallas Morning News, Sarah tried to call 911 at approximately 7:30 pm crying, "I'm dying, I'm dying, I'm dying..."

It was roughly an hour after Sarah's phone call when a man discovered the taxi where their remains were left. Unfortunately, the sisters had passed by the time the police could locate them.

Source

When police weren't able to contact Said, they discovered that he had drained his savings and realized that he had gone on the run.

According to Wikipedia, he was overly controlling and traditional. He believed that Sarah and Amina had dishonoured their family by not abiding by their religious and cultural beliefs/behaviours, which led him to murder them.

The Dallas Morning News also reported that when Sarah and Amenia were eight and nine years of age, they had claimed that their father had sexually assaulted them, which their mother confirmed. Without going into too much detail, the report was disturbingly described by the then nine-year-old girl.

The article then explains, "In early January 1999, the two girls told authorities that they had lied about the allegations because they didn't want to attend rural Covington schools and wanted to go live with their grandmother. A district judge later dropped the charges of aggravated sexual assault against Mr. Said."

According to a police report, a family member told investigators that Said had threatened "bodily harm″ against the youngest of the two, Sarah (aged 17) because he discovered that she had gone on a date with a non-Muslim boy. Fearing her daughters' safety, their mother, Patricia, took her girls and left roughly a week before the incident occurred.

Said was able to evade arrest for nearly twelve years. After six years of being on the run, he was officially placed on the FBI's Most Wanted list in December 2014. He was finally captured in Justin, TX on August 26, 2020. It's also reported that his son, Islam, and brother, Yassein, were arrested in Euless, TX, for aiding in Said's escape.

Source

FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge, Matthew DeSarno is quoted on the fbi.gov website's article saying, "The FBI-led Dallas Violent Crimes Task Force has worked tirelessly to find Yaser Abdel Said. These experienced investigators never gave up on their quest to find him and to never forget the young victims in this case... Said was placed on the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List nearly six years ago for the heinous act he committed against his daughters. His capture and arrest bring us one step closer to justice for Amina and Sarah. We want to thank our partners at the Irving Police Department for working with us to apprehend this dangerous individual."

Said is currently in federal custody and will soon be transferred to Dallas County.

Their mother, Patricia Owens, was quoted in a statement she made by saying, "Now the girls can rest in peace. Yaser was on the run for so long, and it's hard to wrap my brain around it. I am very happy now. It was the happiest moment… he is caught, and justice can be served for Amina and Sarah" (quote from dfw.cbs.com).

We can only hope that now, not only will the daughters be able to be at peace, their family and loved ones will be able to find peace in bringing Said to justice.

guilty
Like

About the Creator

Evie Sinclair

Writer and lover of food, animals, the paranormal, true crime and much, much more.

Instagram: evie_sinclair_vocal

Reader insights

Be the first to share your insights about this piece.

How does it work?

Add your insights

Comments

There are no comments for this story

Be the first to respond and start the conversation.

Sign in to comment

    Find us on social media

    Miscellaneous links

    • Explore
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Use
    • Support

    © 2024 Creatd, Inc. All Rights Reserved.