Posted on 01/25/2005 10:20:12 AM PST by johnny7
Authorities investigating the brutal murders of a Coptic Christian family last week said Monday that they have not found any evidence so far that indicates the four Jersey City residents were slain over a religious dispute.
Authorities investigating the brutal murders of a Coptic Christian family last week said Monday that they have not found any evidence so far that indicates the four Jersey City residents were slain over a religious dispute.AdvertisementThe 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, as reported by the Associated Press.
Last week, enormous tensions between Muslims and Christians in New Jersey’s second largest city surfaced during the funeral for Hossam Armanious, a 47-year-old Coptic Christian, his 37-year-old wife, Amal Garas, and their daughters, Sylvia, 15, and Monica, 8, whose bodies were found bound and gagged, their throats and heads stabbed repeatedly. As mourners took the city’s streets to St. George & St. Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Church on Monday, grief and rage erupted as many blamed Muslims for the killings. According to some family members, Armanious had engaged in heated debate about Islam on a religious Web site.
In an attempt to defuse religious tensions, Christian and Muslim leaders last week made statements, cautioning the public not to jump to conclusions. "We condemn this heinous crime, and we ask that all members of the Christian and Muslim communities refrain from inflaming the present situation and not place blame until the investigation is completed," stated Ghazi Khankan, director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations' New York office, as reported by the New York-based 1010 WINS radio station. The St. Abraam's Coptic Orthodox Church in Woodbury, N.Y. also issued a statement Wednesday cautioning against "jumping to conclusions," however the statement also said "some signs point to this incident being a religiously motivated hate crime against Coptic Christians."
Authorities, however, say 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." However, DeFazio added that the grisly slayings of the family of four did not appear to stem from a simple robbery—which authorities had stressed last week as being a possible motive. "Certainly, based on the viciousness of the attacks, we think there's more than taking the money that was in the apartment," DeFazio said.
While authorities are investigating the possibility that the Coptic Christian family was slain by a Muslim angered over postings that Armanious wrote in an Internet chat room, AP said investigators also continue to look at robbery as a possible motive. Detectives are reviewing the family's finances to see if there are any obvious motives.
Meanwhile, Hudson authorities have enlisted the FBI to scrutinize the family's activities in Egypt before they came to this country in 1997.
Time for the cops to get back to seatbelt violations. This type of thing raises no revenue and besides, the more we talk about it -- the more some people might be offended.
Who is runnig this investigation?..the Feds, or the locals?
They'll find that they probably date back to the Pharaohs.
Muslim did it! Hello!
"No Proof Religious Hatred to Blame for New Jersey Slayings, Says Prosecutor"
Thus giving the MSM leave to ignore this stroy. Case closed. /sarcasm
Nothing to see here, just move along, folks.
Are the investigators former D.C, Park Police?
What'd I tell ya? Whitewash.
I think it was Eskimos, or maybe Norwegians! Or pygmy headhunters.
There may be no proof, but the evidence is everywhere.
And the teenage daughter also managed to accidentally stab herself in the chest and in the Coptic cross she had tattooed on her wrist.
This isn't entirely accurate, which leads me to believe that perhaps, the authorities don't know the full story here.
The person in question was a regular on a chat service called "Paltalk" (www.paltalk.com). He got into a dispute with a Muslim chatter (in a chat room in what Paltalk calls their "Social Issues Section") and the Muslim he was debating ended up threatening his life and leaving. The next day he was killed. I know this because I was in the same chat room, 2 days later, and heard his friends (who are still on Paltalk as far as I know) relating this story.
I urged them to contact the FBI with this information. I assume they did. I'm not sure though if the information was relayed correctly to all the proper authorities and, if this article accurately reflects what the authorites believe, then it doesn't appear that they do know all the facts here.
You'd have to see past the nose on your face to see it wasn't a robbery...
Crosses carved out of the little girl's wrist and chest?
Yeah, some crack head looking for a TV to sell.
Remain Calm, absolutely nothing to see here...
I don't think anyone is running this investigation, that is the problem. I think they want this one to go "unsolved"...
Chief Moose must be on the case.
There may be no proof, but the evidence is everywhere.
Hudson County, the most corrupt county in the Nation. Need I say more...
But I guess the MSM thought from the beginning they had defnitive proof to dwell endlessly on Matthew Sheppard (sp?). Nothing to see here, just a typical old fashioned AMerican family of 4 throat slitting.
"Hudson County, the most corrupt county in the Nation. Need I say more..."
Cook County, ILL, may have a slight point of contention with that claim.
Your comment is scary..There's obviously a terrorist component here..whether domestic or oversea..is crossed state lines..and thuis the FBI should be the lead, right?..Let's assume the "best" case ..American-Islamic youths..hotheads..on the website..decide to travel up to kill the family because of coments supposedly against Islam..these are hardly rocket-scientists..and should be easy to catch..if the Feebs can't close this out, and fast..then heads should roll...at the top...my choice for new FBI head..Rudy..
Mark
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