Yaser Said found guilty of ‘honor killings’ of daughters

A Dallas County jury on Tuesday found Yaser Said guilty of capital murder of his teenage daughters over 14 years ago.

Said, 65, of Lewisville, allegedly took his daughters Amina, 18, and Sarah, 17, for a ride in his taxicab on Jan. 1, 2008, under the guise of taking them to get something to eat, according to a news release from the FBI. He drove them to Irving, where he allegedly fatally shot both girls inside the taxicab. He was on the run for nearly 13 years — with the help of his son and brother — until August 2020, when he was captured in Justin by the FBI. Last year, his son, Islam Said, pleaded guilty to charges related to harboring a fugitive and was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.

Police alleged that Said was an abusive and controlling father who committed these “honor killings” because he was angry that they were dating outside their culture, NBC 12 reported. In a letter to the judge, Said denied killing his daughters but did say that he was not happy with their “dating activity.” On the stand in the trial, he claimed that on the night of the murders, he thought he was being followed and he left his daughters in his taxi and ran away. He claimed he hid from authorities because he didn’t think he would get a fair trial.

But jurors heard a mountain of evidence against him, including a 911 call by Sarah Said saying her father shot her, according to CBS News, as well as a Dec. 21, 2007 email by Amina Said saying that she and her sister planned to run away from their father because “He will, without any drama nor doubt, kill us,” the email said.

The jury deliberated for about three hours Tuesday before delivering the guilty verdict. Prosecutors chose to not pursue the death penalty, so Yaser Said will receive an automatic life sentence.