Man Sentenced To Life In Stepdaughter's Slaying
MOUNT CLEMENS (WWJ/AP) - A 47-year-old Minnesota man has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the fatal shooting of his 20-year-old stepdaughter after she left home to be with relatives in Michigan.
Rahim Alfetlawi of Coon Rapids was sentenced Thursday in Macomb County Circuit Court in Mount Clemens.
A jury found Alfetlawi guilty last month of first-degree murder in the April 30, 2011 death of Jessica Mokdad at her grandmother's home in the Detroit suburb of Warren.
Days before her death, Mokdad left her mother and stepfather's home in Minnesota to live with her biological father in Grand Blanc. Alfetlawi then followed his stepdaughter to Michigan to allegedly confront her biological father.
A defense attorney had said Mokdad accidentally was shot during a struggle with Alfetlawi over a gun. They say her biological father was the intended target.
Authorities previously said Alfetlawi was angry because Mokdad left home and wasn't following Islam. They later said religion wasn't an issue and the confrontation grew out of his efforts to find his stepdaughter's biological father.
TM and © Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
