Neighbor, other man charged in slaying of Jersey City family

PhillyBurbs ^

[Selkie]

By WAYNE PARRY The Associated Press

JERSEY CITY, N.J. - The upstairs neighbor of an Egyptian Christian family found slain in their home in January was charged Friday, along with another man, in the murders.

Edward McDonald, 25, who rented a second-floor apartment above Hossam Armanious and his family, pleaded not guilty to four counts of felony murder. Hamilton Sanchez, 30, faces the same charges and also pleaded not guilty.

Sanchez during a court hearing began crying as he stood before a judge, his hands cuffed behind his back.

"I didn't kill nobody. I didn't kill nobody, man. I didn't kill nobody, people," Sanchez said, as he was led from the courtroom. McDonald stared at the floor during the hearing.

Both men, who were on parole for different drug offenses, were ordered held on $10 million cash bail.

Authorities said Armanious, 47; his wife, Amal Garas, 37, and their children - Sylvia, 15, and Monica, 8 - were slain three days before their bodies were found Jan. 14.

[Selkie]

An excellent group of links on the entire story:

http://mythopoet.blogspot.com/2005/02/new-details-on-armanious-murders.html

New Details on the Armanious Murders
Your Center for Armanious News

This is a work in progress. It will continue to be modified and kept up to date. Thanks to Michelle Malkin, whose links I followed to JihadWatch's exclusives, which inspired me to start blogging this.

This post takes the form of a long, densely hyperlinked outline of the facts of the case and tangential materials, some speculative, some historical, relevant to understanding what this case means to us. I have been busy scouring the blogosphere, the internet press, and various locations I could find from the search engines for information to add to this post

[jocon307]

"This was apparently a robbery gone wrong."

Hubby made a good point to me tonight, maybe the killer was trying to make it look like an Islamofacist murder, he certainly would have known they were Christians, not Muslims, and he might have known about their proslyetizing. This would explain why it "sorta, kinda" looked like a religiously motivated crime, and yet was not "exactly" right.

[Selkie]

Hubby made a good point to me tonight, maybe the killer was trying to make it look like an Islamofacist murder, he certainly would have known they were Christians, not Muslims, and he might have known about their proslyetizing. This would explain why it "sorta, kinda" looked like a religiously motivated crime, and yet was not "exactly" right.>>>

I watched the live footage of the alledged killers on tv.
They look like poster children for dumb criminals of the year.

[verity]

Any particular reason?

[Tymesup]

Since they were waiting for the father to come home, it would appear that the mother did not have an ATM card. Unusual?

They had masks on when they pushed their way in, but took them off after they had subdued the family. Perhaps they felt safe at that time.

The bodies were decomposing downstairs for several days. Meanwhile, Sanchez and McDonald were calmly using the ATM over a period of days.

If the ATM was used immediately, then these could be our killers. If there was a delay, however, it gives one pause.

"****I wonder at what point did the alledged killers obtain the pin numbers ?"

If they had the PIN before Monica got loose, why didn't they just leave then? If they didn't have the PIN yet, they could have forced it out and then killed the family.

[Coleus]

Detectives picked up the man, identified by a relative as Edward McDonald, 25, after reviewing surveillance videos from ATMS in Jersey City and Manhattan, WABC-TV and WNBC-TV reported.

Despite his claim of innocence, Hamilton Sanchez has now been charged with felony murder, along with 25-year-old Edward McDonald, who according to police came up with the plan to rob his downstairs neighbor.

Ex-Cons Accused of Brutally Murdering Family

Two Arrested In Slaying Of Jersey City Family

Break In Brutal Family Murder?

Two Arrested In Slaying Of Jersey City Family

 EX-CON GRILLED IN COPT SLAYS

 

New Jersey Department of Corrections records show that on Feb. 22, 2002, McDonald was sentenced to three years in the slammer for distributing drugs on school property.

He was paroled on Sept. 9, 2003, after serving about 18 months.

--------------------

McDonald and Sanchez????  I bet they were not Muslims, sound very Catholic to me, IMHO.

[King Prout]

see #26

[TexKat]

Maybe he's jus' tellin' da m'f***in' troof.

Edward McDonald, one of the two men arrested, appears in court Friday, March 4, 2005, in Jersery City, N.J., for his arraignment. McDonald, 25, and Hamilton Sanchez, 30, both pleaded not guilty to four counts of murder for the slaying of an Egyptian Christian family. Amal Garas, 37, her husband Hossam Armanious, 47, and their children Sylvia, 15, and Monica, 8, were found slain in their apartment on Jan. 14. (AP Photo/Carmine Galasso, Pool)

Hamilton Sanchez, one of the two men arrested, appears in court Friday, March 4, 2005, in Jersery City, N.J., for his arraignment. Sanchez, 30, and Edward McDonald, 25, both pleaded not guilty to four counts of murder for the slaying of an Egyptian Christian family. Amal Garas, 37, her husband Hossam Armanious, 47, and their children Sylvia, 15, and Monica, 8, were found slain in their apartment on Jan. 14. (AP Photo/Carmine Galasso, Pool)

[Ann Archy]

I almost don't believe these are the killers.

[Selkie]

McDonald and Sanchez???? I bet they were not Muslims, sound very Catholic to me, IMHO.




http://www.wnbc.com/news/4252691/detail.html

Video showing the pair

[Former Dodger]

They meant to rob, not kill the family.

The youngest daughter broke free at one point and saw one the killers, so then then proceeded to kill the whole family so they couldnt be identified.

The killings are too calculated for them to be "unplanned"; they could have just killed the daughter, too.

If she "broke free" why did they tie her up again and "puncture" her throat, these guys are "throat slitters" if anything, or, they could have beaten them to death, they were "helpless".

Then they took the time to wipe the scene clean of fingerprints?

They were a part of it, they facilitated the entry of the killers and were paid with the card.

[Pharmboy]

That's just what it appears to be...

[Selkie]

McDonald had his girlfriend and two kids upstairs while killing everyone downstairs ?
Wow that'd be cold if it were true.


"McDonald, who moved in about two months before the crime, remained at the Oakland Avenue address with his two young children and his girlfriend for at least three days after the slayings, DeFazio said.

Authorities interviewed him the day the bodies were found.

"We never thought about this guy," Amal Garas' brother Ayman Garas said. "We thought maybe it was somebody from the outside. My sister used to mention he was a very good guy."


http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/nyc-murd0305,0,6869587.story?coll=nyc-homepage-breaking2

[TexKat]

Bumpy ride will be people such as yourself grasping at straws for the crime to fit your hopes.

Thank you.

[Selkie]

They were a part of it, they facilitated the entry of the killers and were paid with the card.>>>>>


Yes but if they were they'd wouldnt go to death row and not admit a plot.

[Former Dodger]

Noise.

Pillows, gun placed close to the base of the skull, then again, they were druggies, if they panicked they would have fired, especially if the little girl "broke free" as has been reported.

[Selkie]

The break in the case came after prosecutors got a court order to review the family's financial records. They found that about $3,000 in ATM withdrawals were made from the family's account days after the slayings. Surveillance tape from the banks led officials to a car registered to McDonald's mother, DeFazio said.>>>


Murder 4 people over 3k?

Guess junkies will do anyhting, but that's amazing.

[swordfish71]

Same here, Fred.

I really want to believe it as well, but there is so much here that makes little or no sense. Many people where I live wish to believe that as well, but nothing here makes it look like other than what we have stated before.


What is particularly striking is the length of time it took to see that someone was using the ATM card/PIN-code, and then act on it. According to every cop I know, that is the FIRST thing they look for. Besides, the so-called perpetrators lefts scad of nice jewelry about at the scene---jewelry that could have easily been "converted" into cash.

Like I have said---I keep hoping that it WAS "merely" a robbery---but see little to prove that true.

SF71

[Coleus]

Money the root of all evil.....

WOD, another reason to keep prisoners IN JAIL, the recidivism rate is very high for those involved with the drug trade, most dealers are users.

[Former Dodger]

They found that about $3,000 in ATM withdrawals were made from the family's account days after the slayings.

Days after the slayings...perhaps it was a theft of convenience? Perhaps this skel saw the purse lying unattended and rifled through it and the PIN was written near it. Some people do that with their PINS, keep them written down close to the card.

It just doesn't fit right