Full News Coverage Of
The Jersey Coptic Family Massacre
As Reported By The New York Post And Other Media Networks (Jersey City-WABC, January 17, 2005) _ Violence broke out outside of the funeral for four murdered family members in Jersey City Monday. Fights broke out as they were being laid to rest inside. Eyewitness News' Anthony Johnson reports. CBS2 NEWS COVERAGE
Funeral footage of Murdered Family, God Rest Their Souls
CHRISTIANS & MUSLIMS BRAWL
By
ERIN CALABRESE, JEANE MacINTOSH and LEONARD GREENE
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FUNERAL PROCESSION:
The caskets of the murdered Jersey City family are marched
toward the church for yesterday's funeral. |
January 18, 2005 -- An emotional holy war broke out yesterday on the streets of Jersey City, where Muslims and Christians clashed and lobbed insults at the funeral for a devout family of Egyptian immigrants who may have been slain for their religious beliefs.
While mourners inside the St. George & St. Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Church prayed for peace in the wake of a murder that escalated religious tensions at home and abroad, fights erupted amid the crowd that spilled outside the church, where angry Coptic Christians pointed accusing fingers at their Muslim counterparts.
Hossam Armanious, 37, his wife, Amal Garas, 37, and their two daughters, Sylvia, 15, and Monica, 8, were found dead in their Oakland Avenue home early Friday after relatives told police nobody had heard from them in days.
Investigators said each victim was bound, gagged and stabbed in the neck, and the early focus was on anti-Muslim remarks Armanious made in a popular religious chat room after a relative said Armanious was threatened online for expressing his Christian beliefs.
Officials said the religious persecution theory is still under investigation, but said some evidence points to robbery as a motive.
Members of the city's Coptic community — many of whom left Egypt like Armanious to escape religious threats — believe there is a connection between their faith and the murders.
That sentiment was expressed loudly by one parishioner inside who began yelling at Muslims, including a sheik, who attended the service.
"Muslim is the killer," he said over and over before he was dragged from the church by five police officers who hustled him into an unmarked police car and quickly drove away.
Tensions were high even before the first copper-colored casket arrived, when, during a procession to the church from Journal Square, family members asked mourners to put away anti-Muslim protest signs.
But emotions really boiled over in the moments after the wistful service when a skirmish broke out as the four black hearses adorned with the victims' pictures were being loaded.
Punches were thrown, people were shoved and police rushed in to break up the brawl that had moved up Bergen Avenue to a nearby parking garage.
For a while, cops kept the crowd separated with a metal garage gate until they could restore order.
"I think people here have fueled it," family friend Henry Simon, 35, said of the tension.
]"The sheik came at the wrong time. It's like spitting on their graves."
Those too sad to be angry had kind words for the deeply religious family, especially young Sylvia, who died a day before her Sweet 16 party.
Jersey City Councilman Steve Lipski recalled her unselfish work to help the destitute during Thanksgiving during a program sponsored by the church.
"She was there with her big, bright beautiful smile trying to help people," said Lipski, one of several elected officials including current Mayor Jerramiah Healy and former mayor Bret Schundler.
Sunday school teacher Miriam Fam read a poem the teenager wrote:
"No more tears for me to cry. No more days where I have to lie . . . No more sadness to darken my day. No more rain to fog my daydreams. No more pain in my life. No more fear of getting killed with life's knife."
Police said more than 1,500 people were on hand, far more than could fit in the church, which was standing room only yesterday.
A reward of $100,000 is being offered by Coptic leaders for information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
"It doesn't appear to be random," said Assistant Hudson County Prosecutor Guy Gregory. "It appears to be a specific act. Someone was able to gain access without forcing entry."
Investigators learned that a relative of the victims had helped prosecutors in their case against Lynne Stewart, the lawyer charged with passing messages to followers of her client, blind Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, a convicted terrorist ringleader.
But sources close to the case said there is no connection between the relative and the murders.
By DOUGLAS MONTERO and STEFAN C. FRIEDMAN
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Hossam Armanious, 47, who along with his wife and two daughters was found stabbed to death in his Jersey City home early Friday, would regularly debate religion in a Middle Eastern chat room, one source said.
Armanious, an Egyptian Christian, was well known for expressing his Coptic beliefs and engaging in fiery back-and-forth with Muslims on the Web site paltalk.com.
He "had the reputation for being one of the most outspoken Egyptian Christians," said the source, who had close ties to the family.
The source, who had knowledge of the investigation, refused to specify the anti-Muslim statement. But he said cops told him they were looking into the exchanges as a possible motive.
The married father of two had recently been threatened by Muslim members of the Web site, said a fellow Copt and store clerk who uses the chat room.
"You'd better stop this bull---- or we are going to track you down like a chicken and kill you," was the threat, said the clerk, who was online at the time and saw the exchange.
But Armanious refused to back down, according to two sources who use the Web site.
Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy would neither confirm nor deny that cops and prosecutors were looking into the religion motive, saying only that "nothing is being ruled out." But a relative of the mayor who answered the phone at Healy's home said there was information the murders were "religion-related."
"There are several theories we are looking into, but we are not commenting on any of them at this time," said Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Guy Gregory.
Armanious' fervor apparently rubbed off on his daughter, Sylvia — who would have turned 16 yesterday.
"She was very religious and very opinionated," said Jessica Cimino, 15, a fellow sophomore at Dickenson HS.
A family member who viewed photos of the bloodbath said Sylvia seemed to have taken the most savage punishment.
"When we saw the pictures, you could tell that they were hurt really, really bad in the face; especially Sylvia," said Milad Garas, the high-school sophomore's great-uncle.
The heartless killer not only slit Sylvia's throat, but also sliced a huge gash in her chest and stabbed her in the wrist, where she had a tattoo of a Coptic cross.
Also found murdered were the wife, Amal Garas, and the parents' other daughter, Monica.
Fred Ayed, the deacon at St. George and St. Shenouda Church, where the deeply religious family attended services, said he's worried that the murders could have a ripple effect.
"I am concerned for the safety of our community," said Ayed, who knew Hossam for 30 years. "People are scared because one family was slain like cows," said Moheb Ghabour, publisher of a local newspaper for the Coptic community.
Osama Hassan, director of the Islamic Center of Jersey City, described the relationship between Copts and Muslims as cooperative if not friendly.
"I think there might be people that can get into physical fights, but not to the point of murder," Hassan said.
Both the deacon and uncle poured cold water on the theory that the family were the victims of a robbery gone wrong.
"This is not a robbery, Ayed said. "We found all of the jewelry in the house. They didn't take anything."
The FBI confirmed it has been called in to help with the case.
Additional reporting by Heather Gilmore
Slain and the Media is Silent
By
Ali Sina
Last year a big part of the news in America was
about a basketball player and his escapade with a woman who first
solicited to have sex with him and then accused him of rape. The news
was all over the media. Why such silly incident should be newsworthy is
not clear. But the whole accusation and trial was televised and
broadcasted by every single media outlet in
But last Friday a whole family of four was slain in
their own home. Their throats were slit. They were stabbed and brutally
murdered. Yet no one said a word. An Egyptian American man 47, his wife
37 and his two daughters 16 and 8 were all found dead, soaked in their
own blood at their
The Father, Hossam Armanious, spent some of his
spare time in Internet chat rooms debating about religion and speaking
out against the Islamic persecution of the Coptic Christians in his
native country
About two months ago, when he made a comment in a
Paltalk chat room, he was threatened.
"Some Muslim guys said if you don't stop this,
we're going to come out and kill you," said a family friend. To which he
responded: “Here is
Armanious could not be more wrong. When he found
out that even in
But amazingly, the media did not find this horrendous crime newsworthy. Except a few, none of them had any word about it. Not a squeak was heard from CNN; no mention of this on ABC, CBS or any other big media outlet!
Is it that the big American media already know what
Armanious did not know? Are they afraid to report this carnage? Have
they already convinced themselves that even in
The NBC news reported “authorities were
investigating whether a former tenant, who had had a dispute with the
family, was involved.” There is no mention of the death threat in
their report.
A dispute with a former tenant!? Do people kill an
entire family over a past tenancy dispute? What kind of person can slash
the throat of an eight year old child for a dispute over a few hundred
dollars? Are the reporters in NBC stupid or do they think their viewers
are stupid?
But this is a lie. The authorities HAVE some clue
about the motives.
The
nj.com reported the full story: “An uncle of Armanious' wife,
Amal Garas, said yesterday that detectives told him they were pursuing
the chat room argument as a possible motive for the slayings. The uncle,
Milad Garas, was one of many family members interviewed by police
Friday. "One detective said this was his theory," the uncle said.
The local
northjersey.com reported “Islamic extremists may have murdered
four members of a Coptic Orthodox family”
And the
newyorkpost.com titled its article “Islamic Hate Eyed in Slays”
The rest of the media did not even report the
carnage. These media moguls who kill to report about the sex scandals of
celebrities were shamefully silent over this horrendous crime. Those few
who reported it did not dare to say a word about the possible suspects.
Has
What happened to American justice? What about the
slogan "Don't tread on me"? Well America, you have been treaded on big
time. What are you going to do about it? When are you going to stand up
and say enough is enough?
Please write to the media, call them on the phone and demand them to cover this story truthfully. We do not want them to judge and condemn the Muslims for this crime. But Muslims are the only suspects. Why not report this? If they can report about a dispute with an ex tenant, which is ludicrous, why can't they report the death threat? What is the significance of this cowardly silence?
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Grief and anger
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family
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With authorities mum about their probe into the brutal crime, there is speculation in the Coptic community that the parents and their two daughters were killed because they were outspoken Christian Copts. But others in the Coptic community angrily denounced the rumors, sparking fisticuffs as mourners carried the coffins of Hossam Armanious, 47, his 37-year-old wife, Amal Garas, and their daughters, Sylvia, 15, and Monica, 8, the short distance from Journal Square to the service. "Islam is not a religion, Islam is not a religion," shouted one man as he ran alongside the procession. As family members wailed in grief, some people held anti-Muslim signs like one that read, "American Family Beheaded on American Soil. Welcome Bin Laden." Inside St. George & St. Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Church, the rancor continued as Mayor Jerramiah Healy was interrupted by a man screaming "Muslim is the killer. Muslim is the killer." A small group of Muslims who attended condemned the killing. "We feel this is something that was very far away from our community," said Ahmed Sheded, president of the Islamic Center of Jersey City. "A real Muslim can't do that. Any religious person who believes in God cannot do this, even to an animal." Inside the church, where the Armaniouses were active parishioners, clergy and friends spoke haltingly of a happy, pious family who immigrated to the U.S. from Egypt in 1997. "I love you all and I will see you in heaven," said family friend Emad Attaalla, who wept through his short eulogy. In front of him sat four copper-toned caskets, each adorned with a smiling portrait of the victims. Prosecutors are "working on several different theories" as to what led to the massacre, a source said. In New York, law enforcement sources acknowledged that a "distant relation" of the family had worked as a translator for the prosecution in a case against Lynne Stewart, the attorney for convicted terror kingpin Sheik Abdul Rahman. But they discounted any connection between that case and the murders. Investigators have said that no money or jewelry was found in the Oakland Ave. home where the family was discovered Friday bound, gagged and stabbed to death. Some friends of Armanious believe he was targeted by Muslim extremists because he posted anti-Muslim statements on an Internet chat site. Former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler drew applause and cries of "Amen!" when he said the police and FBI would find the killers. The Coptic community has put up a $500,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the killers. "The Coptic community's getting pretty restless," noted Healy. "They want some answers."
With Adam Lisberg |
New Details In Jersey City Family
Murders
(Jersey City -WABC, January 18, 2005) —
Police tonight are trying to decipher even
the tiniest bits of evidence from the murder of a Jersey City family,
and they are releasing new details about the brutality of the deaths.
Eyewitness news reporter Anthony Johnson has the story from Jersey
City. You could actually call today the calm after the storm because you
may remember that yesterday's funeral allegations were swirling around
in an emotionally charged atmosphere about this crime. Today authorities are only focusing on the facts that they have so
far in this case. All day friends, neighbors and caring people stopped by the memorial,
some lighting candles others were reading the many notes placed on the
fence in front of the Armanious family home. Friends of one victim were still wiping away tears of grief and
sorrow. At Monday's funeral emotions poured out onto the streets are mourners
rushed to touch the caskets that carried the bodies of Hossam Armanious,
his wife Amal Garrus and their two daughters - fifteen-year-old Sylvia
and 8-year-old Monica. Today outside the family's Coptic church it was peaceful and family
members were too overwhelmed by sadness to talk to the media. As far as the investigation is concerned, the preliminary autopsy
revealed that the victims were bound and died of sharp force wounds to
the throat. The victims all had Coptic crosses tattooed on their right
wrists. They were not defaced and religious symbols in the home were not
destroyed. Money was taken and the killers went through the dresser
drawers but left jewellery and a computer. Now many mourners hope the cops will find all the clues they need to
lead to the suspect. Raedejamia Patten, Victim's Friend: "I pray from the bottom of my
heart and with the blessed virgin Mary that she will give them the
strength to know who was the killer." Relatives of the family in Egypt believe the murders were the result
of American violence. The FBI continues to lend assistance to this case
and local authorities say they have not ruled out robbery as a possible
motive. But one source continues to tell Eyewitness News that
authorities are still very interested in the family's involvement in a
religious website as a possible motive for the murders.
Report from CNN
Religious tensions erupt at slain family's funeral
Tuesday, January 18, 2005 Posted: 7:41 AM EST (1241
GMT)
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JERSEY CITY, New Jersey (AP) -- Authorities insist a theory that a Muslim angry over Internet postings was responsible for the slaying of an Egyptian Christian family is just one of several under investigation.
But the theory -- embraced as fact by some -- has touched off a new round of anti-Muslim sentiment in a city still stinging from a post-September 11 backlash.
Grief and rage erupted Monday at the funeral for the slain family members, who were found bound and fatally stabbed in their home early Friday. Mourners fought in the street, with many blaming Muslims for the deaths.
As the coffins were carried through the streets to St. George & St. Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Church, one protester's sign, above a photograph of the smiling Armanious family read: "American Family Beheaded on American Soil. Welcome Bin Laden." Others declared: "Terrorists Reached Our Home" and "Bush: Crush Sleeper Cells."
Church official Amil Sarofiem begged for order.
"Get out! We don't need any talk about September 11 or Muslims!" he yelled to a man who was shouting anti-Muslim slogans.
Investigators are looking into the possibility that Hossam Armanious, 47, his 37-year-old wife, Amal Garas, and their daughters, Sylvia, 15, and Monica, 8, were slain by someone angered over postings that Armanious, a Coptic Christian, wrote in an Internet chat room. The Coptic Orthodox Church is one of the oldest communities in Christendom, believed to have been founded in the first century A.D. by the apostle Mark.
Authorities say the killings could have occurred during a robbery since no cash or valuables were found in the home. Prosecutor Guy Gregory said the father's wallet was found empty.
The Armanious family had been active in the church since immigrating to the United States in 1997 from Egypt, where Copts generally live in peace with Muslims.
The 2,000 mourners included about two dozen Muslims who took off their shoes as a sign of respect and placed them near the entrance to the church, just as they do in their mosques.
"We feel this is something that was very far away from our community," Ahmed Sheded, president of the Islamic Center of Jersey City, said after the service. "A real Muslim can't do that."