'Islam Is Not A Bad Religion'

As the manhunt continues for Yaser Abdel Said, who police admit could be anywhere in the world by now, Said's wife and son emerged at a candlelight vigil Thursday evening.

LEWISVILLE -- Patricia Said and her 19-year-old son have been in hiding since her teenage daughters were found shot to death Tuesday and her husband, Yaser Abdel Said, was accused of the crime.

With police watching over them, the mother and son emerged Thursday evening to attend a candlelight vigil in honor of the girls. Yaser Abdel Said, 50, has eluded police since the shooting.

The girls' mother sobbed into the microphone at Lewisville High School, where Sarah Said, 17, and Amina Said, 18, were honor students.

"They will be missed," Patricia Said told the crowd of about 100 students and teachers. "They were always happy, even when I was sad."

Their brother, Islam Said, also addressed the crowd to dispel rumors that the family's Muslim faith was a factor in their slayings.

"Religion has nothing to do with this, and it was very wrong," Islam Said said. "Islam is not a bad religion."

Well, that's his opinion.

Others are free to theirs.

Details emerged Thursday about the days leading up to the fatal shootings of the Lewisville teens, who were found Tuesday evening in a taxi that police believe was driven by their father.

Patricia Said and her daughters quit their jobs at a Kroger grocery store in Lewisville just before Christmas, a company spokesman said.

Patricia and Yaser Said were wed in February 1987 when she was 15 and he was 30, Tarrant County marriage records show. The two have had addresses in Euless, Bedford, Grand Prairie and Arlington, public records indicate.

Yaser Abdel Said filed a missing-person report Dec. 26. He hoped police would help track down his wife, according to a report by KDFW/Channel 4.

The incident marked one of the domestic problems that investigators believe may have led to the killings of Sarah and Amina Said.

Friends of the girls have said their father didn't approve of them dating.

Read the rest.

UPDATE: More here.

There has been speculation that the crime was an honor killing, a practice in some Muslim communities where a man kills a female relative who is believed to have shamed the family.

Irving police spokesman David Tull said authorities are exploring all possible motives in the sisters' slayings, including that they may have been the victims of an honor killing. He acknowledged there had been some domestic issues in the family.

"We're well aware of the family dynamics," he said. "Everyone wants to know the motive. The only person that can really tell us is him."

Officer Tull said there had been no progress Thursday in locating Mr. Said but noted that federal authorities are participating in the manhunt.

"We've got a large net cast," he said.

Officer Tull said there's a possibility that the Egyptian-born man may have left the country.

"He's not a stranger to travel," he said.

Zohair Zaidi, a close friend of Sarah's, said she told him her father had recently threatened to harm Amina when he discovered she had a boyfriend.

"Her dad has always been oppressive with her and her sister," said Mr. Zaidi, 18.

"She said that one day when she came home – the day he found out about Amina's boyfriend – he told Sarah, 'I'm going to put a bullet through Amina's head, and you better get used to her because she's not going to be around much longer.' "