The son of the man wanted in the 2008 “honor killings” of his teen daughters has pleaded guilty to helping his father evade capture for over 12 years, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Prerak Shah announced Tuesday.
Islam Yaser-Abdel Said, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to conceal a person from arrest, one count of concealing a person from arrest, and one count of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.
“Islam Said prioritized the whims of his father, an alleged killer, over justice for his own sisters. Thanks to the dogged work of the FBI and its law enforcement partners, however, Mr. Said’s efforts were ultimately in vain,” Prerak Shah said.
“We are grateful to the many agents and officers who worked to apprehend Mr. Said, along with his father and uncle. Sarah and Amina deserve justice.”
In August 2020, Yaser Abdel Said was captured and arrested for shooting and killing his two daughters, 18-year-old Amina and 17-year-old Sarah. Investigators believe he was taking them to dinner when he shot them in the back of a taxi cab outside the Omni Hotel in Irving in 2008.
Police believe Yaser Said was angry they were dating boys who were non-Muslim and killed them.
In the recorded 911 call, one of the girls is heard saying her father shot her.
Yaser Said had been on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted fugitive list since 2014.
In 2017, officials said they caught a break in the case after a maintenance worker claimed to see Yaser Said inside an apartment in Bedford, which had been leased to his son, Islam.
When the FBI was contacted, an agent was sent to that apartment, but Islam refused to allow the agent inside. Officials said Islam contacted his uncle, 59-year-old Yassein Said to help conceal his father.
By the time the FBI obtained a search warrant and arrived at the apartment, Yaser Said had escaped.
In August 2020, FBI agents began surveilling a home in Justin, which was purchased by Yassein's daughter, Dalal.
After 24-hour surveillance for more than a week, witnessing both Islam and Yassein drop off groceries and seeing the “shadow” past a window, agents executed a search warrant on the home, where they arrested Yaser Said.
Officials said Islam and Yassein were both arrested the following day in Euless.
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“Islam Said made it possible for his father, Yaser Said, to evade justice for the brutal murder of his daughters for more than a decade,” FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew DeSarno said.
“Along with our partners, the FBI is thankful for the dedication and relentless pursuit that led to the capture of Amina and Sarah’s killer and those that provided him harbor.”
Islam Said now faces up to 30 years in federal prison. He is set to be sentenced on April 30 at 9 a.m.
Islam’s uncle, Yassein Said, is set for trial on Feb. 1.
