By Stanley Ugagbe
After 12 years of pursuit for the murder of his two daughters, Egyptian expatriate Yasser Abdel Fattah Said, one of the 10 most wanted fugitives by the FBI in the US, has finally been arrested.
It would be recalled that a murder investigation was opened on 1 January 2008 after Amina and Sarah were found shot to death.
Reports had it that on that day, the suspect took Amina and Sarah for a ride in his taxicab, on the pretext of taking them for a meal, the FBI alleges.
The FBI says he drove them to Irving, Texas, where he allegedly shot both girls inside the taxicab. They both died of multiple gunshot wounds.
Before their deaths, a family member told police the suspect had allegedly threatened “bodily harm” against Sarah for going on a date with a non-Muslim.
Irving Police Department conducted an investigation into the deaths of Amina and Sarah and, on 2 January, 2008, a capital murder multiple warrants were issued for Yaser Abdel Said’s arrest.
Since then, local detectives and the FBI “have tirelessly pursued justice for Amina and Sarah”, Irving Police Department police chief Jeff Spivey said.
On 21 August, 2008, a federal warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution was issued by a district court in Texas.
FBI agents continued to pursue the suspect and, after “12 years of frustration and dead ends”, eventually captured him recently.
A statement issued by the FBI in Dallas announced that authorities had detained Said in Justice, Texas. He was placed into federal custody in preparation for his transfer to Dallas county.
“The arrest of Said brings us one step closer to achieving justice for Amina and Sarah,” said FBI agent in Dallas, Matthew Desarno, thanking law enforcement officers from the Irving Police Department for working with the FBI to bring Said to justice at last.
“After 12 years of frustration and deadlocks, we never stopped chasing the killer,” Irving Police Chief Jeff Spivey said.
In a statement, the girls’ family said the announcement of the suspect’s arrest had “brought tears of elation and shouts of triumph for us last night”.
The statement said the family was “relieved to finally begin the chapter to justice” after “bright and promising lives were torn away”.
