Slain California couple opposed elder son’s sexual orientation
Although no motive has been released yet behind killing of Bangladeshi couple in San Jose, anonymous sources told NBC that slain parents did not approve of sexual orientation of their elder son who has been arrested in the murder case.
On Friday, prosecutors charged 22-year-old Hasib bin Golam Rabbi and his younger brother, 17-year-old Omar Golam Rabbi, each with two counts of homicide for the murder of their parents, reports Washington Post.
The deceased Bangladesh-origin couple, Golam Rabbi, 59, and his wife Shamima Rabbi, 57, were found dead on April 24, Sunday, by relatives and friends after the couple was not heard from for days.
Their San Jose home was vandalized and covered with cryptic notes. Scrawled all over the walls in black ink were messages including, “Sorry, my first kill was clumsy” and “Take care of your brother, or he’s next.”
“Golam and Shamima Rabbi were murdered inside their home by their two sons on Saturday, April 23. Golam was shot more than a dozen times. Shamima was shot once in the head,” Deputy District Attorney Matt Braker said in a press conference Friday, Washington Post reports according to KPIX.
The two were arrested last Wednesday; Hasib in Tracy, California, and Omar in San Jose, California where he’s been charged as an adult, reports Washington Post.
Hasib allegedly shot Golam, his father more than a dozen times before shooting his mother one time in the head, according to police, reports ABC7 according to Washington Post.
According to Washington Post, the brothers appeared in court Friday, where they both pleaded not guilty. Hasib wore a yellow jumpsuit, which the Mercury News reported is traditionally worn by inmates in the psychiatric ward.
According to police documents, while the brothers both admitted to being at the scene, they offered conflicting accounts as to what transpired, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Hasib allegedly admitted to killing his father in the family’s garage, but he claims a “stranger” at the house, who he couldn’t identify, commanded him to do so. He then allegedly said he did not kill his mother nor did he witness her being shot, reports Washington Post.
Omar, on the other hand, said he was home when Hasib killed Golam and that there were no other intruders, the Mercury News reported.
After his brother killed Golam, Omar said he closed the curtains at Hasib’s request, who allegedly proceeded to kill Shamima. Before they left, Omar, again at his brother’s request, checked the garage door to make sure blood wasn’t seeping out from under it, reports Washington Post.
After both parents were dead, the brothers allegedly drove to the Kraken Con convention — an anime convention in Oakland — where police say they were seen “behaving normally,” according to the Mercury News.
Documents also revealed that the cryptic messages written on the home’s walls were in two different handwriting styles, and the characteristics of one style matched with writing found in Omar’s personal notebooks, suggesting the 17-year-old was responsible for writing some of them, ABC7 reported.
Following the convention, Omar attended classes at Evergreen Valley High School on Monday. He was described by his 16-year-old classmate as being quiet and keeping mostly to himself, according to the Associated Press.
Hasib allegedly stayed with a friend named Matthew Kuch, who told CBS he knew of the murders and housed Hasib out of concerns for his and his family’s own safety, reports Washington Post.
No motive has been released, but anonymous sources told NBC that the parents were at ends with Hasib because they did not approve of his sexual orientation.
One of the messages found at the scene read, “I can’t be like you telling a lie … I can’t love someone without telling them.”
The final post Hasib left on his Facebook page before being arrested read, “F— yeah to the kids who feel like they’re dying inside but still gather up the strength to roll out of bed, get dressed and leave the house. You are strong and beautiful and worth so much more than you know,” the Mercury News reported. On Thursday, Hasib said from jail, “I want everyone to know what happened, but I can’t say anything without a lawyer.”
He added that his brother was innocent.
Also on Friday, hundreds of worshippers gathered at the Muslim Community Association center in Santa Clara to pray for the couple, the Mercury News reported. A guest speaker named Shaykh Yaser Birjas told the crowd that “forgiveness is the most powerful thing you have.”
Source: Washington Post