The Honor Killings of Amina and Sarah Said
I’ve heard about this case many times and I have been following it because the perpetuator has been on the run. This is a brutal and awful case and these two women were failed throughout their whole lives by the people who should have loved and protected them.
Background
Yaser Said was born in Sinai, Egypt, and moved to the U.S. in 1983. When he was 30 years old, he met a 15 year old girl named Patricia Owens, who went by the nickname Tissie. They married in 1987, and many people including Tissie’s family believe Yaser married her to stay in the U.S. because his Visa was expiring.
Regardless if he did marry her for a Visa or not, he was 30 years old and she was 15 and that to me is too big of an age difference. They did stay married and had three children together, Islam, Amina and Sarah.
Yaser Said
Alleged Abuse
There have been a lot of rumors and speculations about this case and whether or not Yaser was abusive, but I think after seeing how this case ends, I think it’s safe to say he probably was.
Sarah and Amina constantly told people that Yaser was abusing them, physically and sexually. Sarah even told one of her friends over social media that Yaser treated her “like a whore.”
There was also evidence of the abuse when the girls would show up at school with bruises. The girls also told their friends and even a few teachers that Yaser was always watching them, and they were afraid to use a telephone because they thought he had bugged it. There is also evidence of Yaser watching the girls, he would videotape them doing literally everything, including sleeping.
The Said family moved a few times, this was mostly because someone would start getting suspicious that the abuse really was happening. Yaser would pull his kids out of school and they would move and start over in a new town or state.
Amina and Joseph
Amina started dating a boy from her Taekwondo class, his name was Joseph Moreno. They had trouble seeing each other because Amina would tell Joseph that Yaser was probably watching her with binoculars.
They would mostly converse through text messages, even having code words so that Joseph knew not to text her after certain times. They would also write each other notes in between classes at school. However, things were about to get worse when Yaser found one of Amina’s notes one day.
Amina had left a note at home that she started writing for Joseph. When Yaser confronted her about it, she lied and said she didn’t have a real boyfriend but an imaginary one and wanted to know what it would be like if she had a real one. Yaser didn’t believe her and he moved the family once again to Lewisville, Kentucky.
The Murders
In 2007, a few days before they were killed, Sarah, Amina and their mom went to Tulsa, Oklahoma. The girls thought they were finally running away after their mom said she wanted to get away from Yaser too.
However, it’s rumored that Tissie was in contact with Yaser the whole time, despite them getting new phones so he couldn’t track them. Tissie told the girls that she wanted to go back home because it was the anniversary of her mother’s death. This was a lie and they eventually returned home to Yaser.
On January 1, 2008, Yaser put on an act and told his wife that he was going to take the girls out to eat. Tissie wanted to go along, but he said no because he wanted to have a conversation alone with them.
Yaser, Sarah and Amina got into Yaser’s cab and they drove to Irving, Texas. Yaser then pulled out his gun and shot his daughters. Amina died instantly, but Sarah was able to call the police and was screaming “help, my dad shot me! I’m dying.” Unfortunately, Sarah died too.
Yaser then drove his cab to the Omni Mandalay Hotel and fled.
Sarah and Amina
The Capture of Yaser Said
Yaser’s America’s Most Wanted poster
It’s unknown who helped Yaser escape that day after he killed his daughters, but it’s rumored to have been Tissie or Yaser’s brothers, who were eventually arrested for helping him flee.
Yaser was able to flee and spend 12 years on the run, and was on the America’s Most Wanted list for 6 years. He had ties in Egypt, but I think it’s safe to say he was probably in the U.S. all this time because there were never any records of him leaving the country.
As early as 2017, there were many tips about where Yaser could have been. However, one tip was extremely important. On August 17, 2017, a maintenance worker from a apartment complex said he saw a man matching Yaser’s description. Yaser’s son, Islam, was staying at this complex. Islam was interviewed by the police that day and eventually reported to someone that “we have problem.” My guess is that this was either Yaser or Yassein. When the police arrived at the complex, they were gone.
In August 2020, it was reported that Yaser was living in Justin, Texas, and that he was being helped by his son Islam and his brother Yassein. The police did a 24 hour surveillance on where they were living. During this time, they saw Yassein and Islam going to and from the house.
On August 26, 2020, Yaser was captured. The police also arrested Islam and Yassein, they were charged with concealing a person from arrest.
Yaser Said has been indicted on capital murder charges and could face the death penalty.
Tissie Owens filed for divorce from Yaser in 2009.
Yaser, Islam and Yassein
Honor Killings
I just wanted to give a little information into what an honor killing is. According to Wikipedia, an honor killing is the murder of a family member due to the perpetrator’s belief that the victim has brought shame upon the family or has violated the principles of a community or religion.
This has been said to be an honor killing, but to me it’s straight up murder. The Said’s were said to have been Christians and Muslims, but I don’t know if they were that religious. Yaser did believe that his daughters brought shame upon their family though, so I can see why it’s classified this way.
UPDATE:
8/11/22: Yaser Said has been found guilty of capital murder. He claimed he didn’t turn himself in right away because he wouldn’t get a fair trial.
Source: https://abcnews.go.com/US/yaser-said-guilty-of-capital-murder/story?id=88110253
FINAL THOUGHTS
What a terrible person this man is. I 100% believe he was abusing his children and probably his wife. She is a victim, however, I think she was so brainwashed that she helped Yaser escape also. It’s never been proven and she’s never been charged with anything, but she has a history of telling multiple stories and running back to Yaser. Now, like I said I think she is a victim too.
Sarah and Amina were failed by everyone. Their mom, Yaser, their brothers, their uncles. EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON. They tried to get away, and wanted to move on with their lives but they couldn’t get away from the control of their evil father. Now, he can finally rot in prison.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor_killing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaser_Abdel_Said
https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/yaser-abdel-said
