Police: Man Killed Stepdaughter For Not Following Islam
WARREN (AP) - A Minnesota man is accused of killing his 20-year-old stepdaughter in Michigan because she left home and wasn't following Islam, police said Tuesday.
Rahim Alfetlawi, 45, was being held without bond Tuesday in the Macomb County Jail after being charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jessica Mokdad on Saturday at her grandmother's home in the Detroit suburb of Warren.
Alfetlawi was arraigned Monday, and a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf. He awaits a May 12 preliminary examination. Alfetlawi requested a court-appointed lawyer. A number listed for the Coon Rapids man in Minnesota wasn't in service.
Warren Police Detective Lt. Michael Torey said Alfetlawi went to police in neighboring Center Line to report the shooting.
Torey said Alfetlawi told police the gun discharged accidentally when he pulled it out, but police believe he intentionally shot Mokdad in the head.
Torey said Mokdad had left her mother and stepfather to live with her father near Flint in Grand Blanc because she did not like their rules.
"He's a strict Muslim, she was more Americanized," Torey said.
Authorities say Alfetlawi told them he came to Michigan to find and confront Mokdad's father.
Torey said Alfetlawi asked Mokdad about where her father was and an argument ensued.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
