Tuesday 20 March 2012

“Honor Killing” Dad Secretly Taped Girls « Liveshots August 2010

“Honor Killing” Dad Secretly Taped Girls

August 6, 2010 - 12:30 PM | by: Danielle Cangelosi

On New Year’s Day 2008, two Texas teenagers Amina and Sarah Said were shot dead, their bloodied bodies left in a taxi cab. The alleged shooter: their father Yaser Said.

In fact, Sarah appears to identify her Dad as the murderer in a 9-11 call – her dying words.

For more than two years the Fox News Reporting team has been following this story and the search for Yaser Said, who vanished the night of the murders.

We learned this dark tale began long before the girls were born. Their mother Patricia married the Egyptian-born Said when she was only 15 years old. She says her husband violently abused her during their 20-year marriage.

Over the course of our investigation, Fox News’ Gregg Jarrett and I made multiple trips to Texas, taping hours of interviews with investigators, relatives and family friends.

We also obtained never-before-broadcast video of the girls that was secretly shot by their father. In light of what happened to Amina and Sarah, it’s extremely disturbing footage.

If Yaser Said killed his daughters, what was his motive? His American wife Tissy claims he did so because their girls were dating boys that weren’t Muslim.

While friends and family call the murders honor killings, it’s a label the FBI and local police have been hesitant to use.

In fact, 8 months after the deaths of Amina and Sarah the FBI added the words “honor killing” to their wanted poster but days later, removed them.

Watch the latest video at FoxNews.com

In the hour, we also speak with  former FBI counter-terrorism chief Steve Pomeranz and activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Both provided a broader perspective to this story.

Hirsi Ali – born a Muslim in Somalia, she was subjected to female circumcision as a child and fled to Europe in 1992 after refusing an arranged marriage. In 2003 she won a seat in the Dutch Parliament. The following year she wrote and co-produced a film about Islam’s subjugation of women with director Theo van Gogh.  Van Gogh was murdered by a radical Muslim, who pinned a note to Van Gogh’s chest vowing that Hirsi Ali was next.  Hirsi Ali fled again this time to the United States, where she lives under round-the-clock security but continues to be a forceful critic of Islam. She’s been following the Said case from the beginning.

‘Fox News Reporting: Honor Killing in America’ airs at 9 p.m. ET Saturday, Aug. 7, and 2 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 8.