Slarg232 wrote:Well, it's hardly surprising, unfortunately.

When you demonize a people/culture, people are going to see them as demons....

I just hope justice is served.

Frazzled wrote:She was Iraqi, not Arabian.

Frazzled wrote:In my first week in LA the news reported 18 murders over the weekend, one weekend. Sixteen murders were reportedly gang related. Nothing surprises me about Southern California.

hotsauceman1 wrote:But This is a sad story. And because she is dead, and it was random and not someone she knew its likely they will never apprehend the perpetrator.

Manchu wrote:We don't need a suspect to talk about what the appropriate response to xenophobic murder should be.

Amaya wrote:Isn't any premeditated murder done out of hatred in some form?

Hate crime laws only apply to crimes motivated by race, culture, politics, or religion. A protestant white guy can go kill another white guy out of hatred for a reason not covered by hate crime laws.

Presented By Murder of Iraqi-American Woman May Not Have Been a Hate Crime
AP Photo/Hadi Mizban Share Print article Email article Comments (9) Dashiell Bennett 789 Views 6:39 AM ET
Search warrants in the case of Iraqi-American woman who was beaten to death last month suggest that there may be more to the story than just a case of anti-Muslim violence. According to court records obtained by the San Diego Union Tribune, the victim, Shaima Alawadi, was looking to divorce her husband and move to another state, while her 17-year-old daughter, Fatima, was also distraught about being forced to marry her cousin. Fatima Alawadi also reportedly received a crytpic text message shortly after the attack saying, "The detective will find out tell them (can’t) talk."

Investigators also learned of another incident that adds to the portrait of a family in trouble. Fatima was picked up by police last November after they responded to a report of two people having sex in a car and found the daughter in a car with a 21-year-old man. Her mother came to pick her up, but while driving home, Fatima threw herself out of the moving car at 35 m.p.h., breaking her arm. She reportedly told hospital staff that she was upset about the arranged marriage.

Finally, police have determined that the key piece of evidence — a threatening note found next to the body telling the family to go back where they came from — was a photocopy and not the handwritten original. (The family did say they previously found a similar note outside their home, but did not save it.)

While none of these details directly contradict the original theory that the killer was an outsider targeting the family because of bias against Muslims, they do suggest a wider range of other motives and the possibility that the note may have been a attempt to distract police from the real killer. Local police and the FBI have not commented on the ongoing investigation or these latest revelations, but have said that there are no suspects at the moment. They also wouldn't change the fact that there is real anti-Muslim hatred in this country and particularly in El Cajon where the crime occurred. But this is yet another reminder that as with many crimes, particularly those that play out in the public eye, it may difficult to ever piece together what really happened — and the truth is rarely what it first appears to be.

Both Fatima and her father are in Iraq, where Shaima was buried last Saturday.

Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at dashiell@dashiellbennett.com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire

Police: Shaima Alawadi's death was domestic violence not hate crime, arrest husband

Reuters
The husband of Shaima Alawadi, Kassim Alhimidi, holds a picture of his slain wife in April 2012.

By Kari Huus, NBC News
Police have arrested the husband of an Iraqi woman beaten to death in her home eight months ago for what initially looked like a racially motivated hate crime, U-T San Diego reported, citing jail records in El Cajon, Calif., in San Diego County.
Kassim Alhimidi, 48, was booked into jail Thursday evening on one count of first-degree murder. He is being held without bail.

Follow @NBCNewsUS
"After months of hard work, we determined that this homicide was a result of domestic violence," El Cajon Police Chief Jim Redman said Friday, NBCSanDiego.com reported.

Shaima Alawadi, 32, was found bloody and unconscious with multiple skull fractures in her family's home on March 21. She died in the hospital three days later.The couple’s 17-year-old daughter told police she was in her bedroom when the attack took place. She found her mother unconscious and called 9-1-1.

Family members said they had found a note near Alawadi's body telling the family to go back where they came from. They said they had found a similar note at their home weeks earlier, but they didn't keep it or report it.Police said at the time they were investigating the possibility of a hate crime.Alawadi's horrific death sparked fear and anger among immigrants who believed the crime targeted her because she was Muslim or because of her country of origin.

Later court documents emerged suggesting family tensions, and showing that Alawadi was preparing to divorce her husband and move with her children to be with relatives in Texas.

After Alawadi's death, Alhimidi traveled to Iraq for her burial and returned two weeks later.Redman told reporters that investigators did not have any reason to keep Alhimidi in the country at the time, NBCSanDiego.com reported. "He came back, and we decided he was a person of interest after he came back," Redman said without giving specifics.The couple's minor children have been taken into protective custody