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Politics : Liberalism: Do You Agree We've Had Enough of It? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lorne who wrote (1274)	1/25/2005 9:05:11 PM
From: lorne	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 224704

Prosecutor: No proof religious hatred to blame for family's murder By WAYNE PARRY Associated Press Writer January 24, 2005, 4:54 PM EST newsday.com NEWARK, N.J. -- Authorities investigating the stabbing deaths of an Egyptian immigrant family said Monday they have not found any evidence so far indicating the four Jersey City residents were slain over a religious dispute. The possibility of a religious grudge, which has strained relations between Muslims and Christians in the area, still is being investigated, said Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio. He added that the brutal slayings of Hossam Armanious, a 47-year-old Coptic Christian, his 37-year-old wife, Amal Garas, and their daughters, Sylvia, 15, and Monica, 8, do not appear to stem from a simple robbery. "Certainly, based on the viciousness of the attacks, we think there's more than taking the money that was in the apartment," DeFazio said. Shortly after the bound and gagged bodies were found Jan. 14, friends of the family circulated word that Armanious had angered Muslims with Internet postings in a religious chat room. The claims led to widespread tension between Christians and Muslims in Jersey City, which led to numerous scuffles at the family's funeral earlier this month. But authorities said nothing so far supports the theory. "Is it possible? Yes," DeFazio said. "Do we have anything that gives us reason to believe this is what it was, factually? No. Nothing indicates that was the prime motivation for this. That we can clearly say." Magdy Mahmoud, president of the Council on American-Islamic Relations' New Jersey chapter, was one of about a dozen Muslim leaders who called on the community last week to refrain from speculating on a motive in the killings. On Monday he said he was pleased to hear that no evidence of religious bias had been found. "We expected this to be the case," Mahmoud said. "As we said last week, all religious groups should stand in solidarity, especially in times like this when fear and grief are being spread among the community." Father Antonious Tanious of St. Mary's Coptic Church in East Brunswick said his church and others in the U.S. remain concerned by the ferocity of the killings. "These were more of an execution," he said. "As far as the church is concerned, it's, `Who is this animal? Who could do such a thing?' The type of slaying is what has gotten everybody up in arms. An 8-year old? A 16-year-old, tied up and gagged?" DeFazio said no motive has been established in the case. In addition to the Internet theory, investigators continue to look at robbery as a possible motive because the home was ransacked and money was taken from the victims. Detectives are reviewing the family's finances to see if there are any obvious motives. Hudson authorities have enlisted the FBI to scrutinize the family's activities in Egypt before they came to this country in 1997. "It could be that it's a vendetta that might go back to the old country," DeFazio said. "We're going to try to look into that." A spokesman for the FBI's Newark office did not immediately return a call seeking comment Monday. A computer recovered from the family's house is being examined by forensic investigators who are trying to document its online use, including incoming and outgoing e-mail, and Internet usage, DeFazio said.