Yaser Said Trial: Texas Man Allegedly Murdered 2 Teen Daughters Because They Were Dating American Boys

The Yaser Said trial started with a prosecutor saying in the opening statement that the Texas man was a person possessive of his two daughters, controlled them, and finally killed them in 2008.

Lauren Black, a prosecutor, described on Tuesday the two teens as bright young girls who were students of Lewisville High School, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The other prosecutors involved in the case of Said are Brandi Mitchell, Jaclyn O'Connor, and Summer Elmazi. Black said in front of the Dallas County jury that the accused father "controlled everything in his household" and got "extremely dangerous."

On Tuesday, Said pleaded not guilty to the shooting deaths of his daughters Amina, 18, and Sarah, 17, on New Year's Day 2008, near an Irving hotel.

Said's defense attorney, Joseph Paton, told jurors that the Texas man was a suspect because he was a Muslim, adding that evidence would show the investigation was botched.

The defense also raised questions about several of the 58 witnesses called by prosecutors. Police believed that Said killed his daughters in his taxi because he was "upset" that his daughters were dating American boys.

Texas Man Yaser Said Accused of Killing Daughters

Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Yaser Said's daughters escaped the family's house with their mother on Christmas Day in 2007. The girls then went to Oklahoma because they were afraid of their father.

Black said that the sisters had become "very scared for their lives," adding that the decision to leave was made after Said put a gun to Amina's head and "threatened to kill her."

Black told the jurors that Said had managed to get them to come home by claiming that he had changed and wanted to take his daughters out to dinner.

The prosecutor said Amina was sitting on the front-seat passenger side of a vehicle, and Sarah was in the back seat the night they were killed.

Said's wife wanted to go with her daughters. However, the Texas man told her to stay home. Sarah had called 911 before she died, but she was unable to say where she was.

In the call, Sarah called for help and said, "my dad shot me." Patton said that moments of extreme traumas, such as being shot multiple times, can cause people to have hallucinations.

Meanwhile, some family members claimed that the girls were victims of "honor killings," as Said thought they had brought shame to the family.

Daughters Amina and Sarah Said

WFAA reported that Amina and Sarah, when they were younger, filed a police report accusing their father of sexual assault. However, the charges were dropped.

Ruth Trotter, a family friend, said the Texas man followed his daughters everywhere and recorded their every move. Trotter's son Joseph dated Amina. The family friend added that Yaser Said was abusive and obsessed with his daughters.

Said was on the run for 12 years until he was arrested in August 2020 at a family house in Denton County, Dallas News reported.

Said's son, Islam Said, and his brother, Yassein Said, were also arrested on suspicion of helping to hide him. Yaser Said, who was born in Egypt, has been in the Dallas County jail since his arrest.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

WATCH: Former FBI Most-Wanted Suspect Yaser Said Stands Trial for the Murder of His Teen Daughters - From WFAA