Disclaimer: The article contains mentions of honor killings and murder. Reader discretion is advised.
On New Year’s Day of 2008, authorities discovered the lifeless bodies of Sarah and Amina Said in the parking lot of a hotel in Irving, Texas. Reports suggested that police found the bodies in the back of a taxi that their father drove. After the discovery of the bodies, authorities started the investigation and found that their father, Yaser Said, might be responsible for the slayings. The documentary The Price of Honor explores the case in great detail. Additionally, it reveals why a father brutally killed two of his children.
According to ABC News, Sarah and Amina Said were always afraid of their father and once said that he would kill them. Citing an email sent by Amina, the outlet mentioned that Amina told her history teacher about how her father made their lives “a nightmare.” As a result, they, along with their mother and boyfriends, left Texas and reached Oklahoma in December 2007. However, they returned to their home on New Year’s Eve. One day later, Amina and Sarah’s bodies were discovered in the parking lot of a hotel in Texas. A person called the authorities and told them about the bodies. The autopsy found out that the killer shot Amina twice, while Sarah was shot nine times.
However, it took authorities 12 years to arrest Yaser Said for the slayings. During the trial, Said testified that he didn’t kill his daughters. Moreover, he said that he left his cab and ran into the woods after feeling someone wanted to hurt him. Quoting his statement, CBS News reported, “I did not expect anyone would harm them.” Subsequently, Said’s ex-wife also testified against Said and called him a “devil” before labeling him abusive. After hearing several arguments, the jury deliberated for three hours and found Yaser Said guilty of the murders. As a result, the court sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole, per ABC News. Yaser Said is currently serving his sentence at a prison in Beeville, Texas.
The Price of Honor: Where is Amina & Sarah Said’s killer Yaser Said now?
Per the Texas Department of Corrections, Yaser Said is currently held at the William G. McConnell Unit in Beeville, Texas. During the trial, the prosecutors laid out why Said allegedly killed his daughters. The jury also heard the 911 call that Sarah Said made during the shooting. According to CBS News, she said, “Help. I’m dying. Oh my God. Stop it.” Meanwhile, Yaser Said wrote a letter to the judge during the trial and admitted that he was unhappy with his kids because they were dating. However, he denied killing his daughters.
In their opening statements, prosecutors claimed that Yaser Said’s ex-wife and children decided to leave the house after he threatened to kill Amina. On the other hand, Said’s ex-wife said in her testimony that he was a “devil.” She stated that Said was “abusive” throughout their relationship and left him several times, ABC News reported.
As the trial continued, investigators revealed that they had been following Yaser Said, but he somehow managed to evade them. Per FOX4 News, in August 2020, they finally arrested him from a house leased by the members of the Said clan. Police mentioned that Said surrendered after they entered the house and called the murders “honor killings.” For the uninitiated, in honor killings, a woman is killed by a member of her family to protect the family’s honor.
Meanwhile, the defense claimed that authorities focused too quickly on Yaser Said and noted that the pieces of evidence were not strong enough for a conviction. However, the jury found him guilty and gave him a life sentence.
The Price of Honor is available to stream on Prime Video and Apple TV+.
