“My Dad Shot Me, I’m Dying” — Man Killed His Own Daughters and Vanished for 12 Years

A father was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives with a $100,000 reward for killing his two daughters in cold blood. Yaser Abdel Said was originally born in Egypt and came to the  U.S. on a student visa in 1983. He married his wife Patricia Owens when he was 30, and Owens was 15.

The wife later alleged that Said was physically abusive toward her throughout the course of their marriage. Two years after the wedding, the couple welcomed their daughters, Amina in 1989 and Sarah in 1990.

The couple also had a son, Islam, born in 1988. Ever since the children’s childhood, Said has been controlling. He has also been reported to have physically and sexually abused his two daughters over the years. Amina and Sarah reportedly lived in constant fear of their father due to his strict demeanor and controlling nature. Authorities and family members alleged that Said monitored his children closely and even installed recording devices without their knowledge to spy on them.

Amina and Sarah were even scared of using public telephones, in fear of their father, “getting in everywhere and knowing everything.” At one point, Said even tried to arrange his daughter Amina’s marriage when she was just 16 years old. However, she declined the offer. At this point, Amina began an after-school job at a convenience store. She met Joseph Moreno while taking Taekwondo classes and began dating him.

Amina would constantly be in fear of her father while meeting Moreno. The 16-year-old’s worst fear came true when her father found a note she had written to Moreno. Following the revelation, Said moved his family to a secluded house in Lewisville, Texas. Amina planned to run away with Moreno and get married in Las Vegas.

On the eve of Christmas 2007, Amina and Sarah ran away with their mother Patricia to Oklahoma, where Moreno was reported to have relatives. However, Said convinced Patricia to bring the daughters back, claiming that he had forgiven them. After the family’s return, on January 1, 2008, Said took his daughters out in his taxi cab before allegedly shooting both of them to death.

Amina died instantly, while Sarah managed to call 911 as she screamed, “Help, my dad shot me! I’m dying, I’m dying,” before dying too. Said managed to evade arrest for a baffling 12 years. Prosecutors later alleged that Said’s son, Islam, and his brother, Yassein, helped hide him from law enforcement and keep him out of public view. 

According to CBS News, after almost 10 years, the FBI got involved and tracked down Said in his son’s house. Said pleaded not guilty to the murders at first, claiming that there was a conspiracy against him. He claimed that his life was in danger at the time, which led to his leaving the two girls alone in the car.

However, after hearing the closing statements on the case, the judges sentenced Yaser Abdel Said to life in prison without the possibility of parole. His son, Islam, and brother, Yassein, were also sentenced to 10 and 12 years in prison, respectively, for conspiring to harbor a fugitive.