Thanks to Jihad Watch for the heads up on this one. Two suspects arrested in the slaying of the Armanious family in New Jersy, U.S.A. - The upstairs neighbor of the family and another man were charged today.
Edward McDonald, 25, pleaded not guilty to four counts of felony murder.
Hamilton Sanchez, 30, faces similar charges and also pleaded not guilty.
- At the time of their murder the N.Y. Post broke the story that the father had been threatened for making anti-Muslim remarks online (as I posted 18Jan05 and also posted on 31Jan05) - News coverage at the time seemed to be rather slim to none with many bloggers chastising much of the MSM for not getting on the stick and reporting statements from friends neighbors and family. It appeared from reports that the Police/FBI seemed more intent on hushing up the story than finding the perpetrators.
Well a Big Kudos goes to all of the people involved with working on this case.
From Yahoo News:
- - - end quotes - - -
The upstairs neighbor of an Egyptian Christian family found slain in their home in January was charged along with another man Friday in the killings, and authorities said the motive was robbery, not religious fanaticism, as some had feared.
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Armanious, a 47-year-old Coptic Christian; his wife, and their two daughters, ages 8 and 15, were found bound and gagged with puncture wounds to their throats.
The slayings raised tensions between Christian and Muslim immigrants in New Jersey. Armanious frequented Internet chat rooms, posting opinions under the user name "I Love Jesus." Some Christians speculated he was killed by Muslim fanatics.
But Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said the killings took place during a robbery by the two men, who owed someone a large sum of money.
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Authorities said thousands of dollars were withdrawn from Armanious' bank account using his ATM card in the days after the slayings.
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Hopefully the ATM cameras will show the truth.
The story can also be read in a good write up at the N.J. Star Ledger.
prying1 sez:
I hope this does settle the case. As said in H.G. Bishop David's Memorial Message at the funeral:
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The only way to bring this case to an end is for the truth to be revealed and for the criminals to be brought to justice. A swift and just conclusion is the only thing that will end the fear, speculation, and unrest that have filled our hearts and homes since the murders. We, therefore, urge the law enforcement authorities responsible for this investigation to employ every available resource to unravel the truth behind this crime. Until that day, every American family in general, and every family of Coptic descent in particular will feel unsafe.
We still do not accuse any person, group, or organization against this crime. Instead we leave these matters to the proper authorities, in whom we place our full confidence. As a community, we are prepared to accept any explanation regardless of motive so long as we believe it to be the whole truth.
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Long live the truth!!!
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