Yaser Abdel Said, the Eyptian Muslim cab driver wanted in the brutal murders of his two daughters in Dallas, is still missing. The Dallas Morning News continues to cover the story and offers new details on Said’s past history of alleged abuse (see also Rod Dreher):

In the week since their murders, friends and relatives on Patricia Said’s side of the family say they have been haunted by that final phone call, a cry for help that went unanswered for years. They say Mr. Said physically and emotionally abused his children.

In October 1998, when Amina and Sarah were 9 and 8 years old, they accused their father of sexual abuse.

The allegations were reported to the Hill County sheriff’s office, where the girls told a detective their father had been touching them inappropriately. Amina told authorities she had been penetrated at least once.

Their mother swore in an affidavit that the allegations were true.

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.

Amina and Sarah’s mother and brother continue to protest that murders were not honor killings. But the testimonies of the sisters’ best friends, other relatives, and the mother’s own words to the police say otherwise:

In a brief phone call in which she declined to comment further, his wife, Patricia, angrily rejected the notion that Mr. Said’s Muslim religion or culture had anything to do with the murders.

Her son, Islam, 19, agreed.

“Why is it every time an Arab father kills a daughter, it’s an honor killing?” Islam said. “It didn’t have anything to do with that.” He declined to answer other questions.

The son named Islam is reportedly responsible for persuading the girls to return after attempting to leave their abusive father. One friend received a text message from Sarah Said that read: “Me mina and my mom r running away! ..My dad found out abt mina and is goin to kill us….B4 he tld me that he was goin to put bullet thru her head…today he tld me to get used to my sis bc shes not goin to b w us lng.”

Here’s what the mother told police a few days before the sisters were shot to death:

“Patricia stated that she was not going to call back again, as she was in great fear of her life. Patricia said she is very fearful of her husband harming her and/or her children, which is the reason she left her husband. Patricia further advised she and her children, Sarah and Amina, are just fine, and are going to continue hiding from her husband.”

… “Patricia had told her that since they are Muslim that the daughter was only allowed to date other Muslims. Yaser had found out she went on a date with a non-Muslim and became very angry and threatened her with bodily harm. This concerned Patricia because Yaser has been violent in the past and Patricia was afraid that Yaser would severely hurt their daughter. At that time Patricia decided it would be best to leave her husband and take their daughters and go into hiding.”

Debbie Schlussel heard from Sarah and Amina’s aunt. An excerpt of her e-mail:

Yes, this was an honor killing and I believe with all my heart that ISLAM, the brother, is just as guilty as his dad. Why? Because Amina would not go back home! He went over, where she was staying and was crying. “Please come home Amina and talk things out with Dad! He will not hurt you, I give you my word! I promise, you will be safe!” She trusted those words and went with him. Not an hour later….Sarah made that infamous call! She died immediately after she called as he took his time killing her. In fact, all we have been told is, “she had multiple gunshots”…..I still have no clue how many bullets he fired at her. I do know she fought for her life as there is a bruise on her forehead which shows that she did not go out without a fight…one this precious and beautiful girl lost…to a man she knew as daddy!

This jibes with other details provided by friends and family in the DMN story:

Connie Moggio, Mrs. Said’s sister, said his controlling and violent nature gripped the family from the start.

Once, he shot out the tires on his wife’s car to keep her home. Another time, Mrs. Moggio said, he blocked her car in a driveway because he thought she was going to help her sister and children escape.

Years later, when Amina was a sophomore at Euless Trinity High School, a friend said she showed up at school with red welts across her arms and back. Another time, Amina confided that her father had kicked her in the face.

ORDER IT NOW

“He found notes from her boyfriend,” said a 17-year-old Trinity senior, who asked not to be identified. “Her lips were pretty much attached to her braces, but they wouldn’t take her to the doctor because her family feared her father would be taken to jail.”

She said the abuse continued and threats intensified.

“I remember her telling me that her dad told her he would take her back to Egypt and have her killed,” she said. “He said it’s OK to do that over there if you dishonor your family.”

Nothing to do with Islamic cultural attitudes? Everything to do with, says Robert Spencer.