By Bob Christie
Associated Press
PHOENIX (AP) -- There is no doubt that an Iraqi immigrant ran over and killed his 20-year-old daughter and injured her boyfriend's mother in a suburban Phoenix parking lot in October 2009, a prosecutor and defense attorney agreed Monday.
But whether it was a rage-fueled intentional act that equals first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder -- or an accident caused by an angry father's split-second decision -- will be the subject of much debate as jurors hear evidence in the coming weeks.
Prosecutor Laura Reckart told them that Falel Almaleki was increasingly incensed at his daughter's failure to obey him. She told jurors in her opening statement in his murder trial that he believed she had dishonored the family by becoming too Westernized. When he saw her by chance while visiting a state Department of Economic security office in Peoria on Oct. 20, 2009, his rage overflowed.
Falel Almaleki left the office, got in his Jeep and waited for his daughter to emerge as he seethed, Reckart said. Then, "he revved and raced that car right out of the parking spot in a premeditated act and ran them over."
Not so, defense attorney Elizabeth Mullins told the 16 men and women on the panel.
What happened was an accident, Mullins told jurors, when Almaleki saw the older woman walking across the parking lot and made a "catastrophic" decision to spit on her to show his disdain.
As he accelerated to about 20 mph, a startled Amal Khalaf jumped in front of the Jeep. Almaleki swerved but couldn't avoid hitting the woman, who survived her injuries.
But the careening Jeep them jumped a curb and ran over Noor Almaleki, causing severe injuries that would kill her 13 days later.
It was an accident and he should be held responsible, but he is not guilty of premeditated murder, she said.
The case caused outrage after prosecutors deemed Noor's death an "honor killing" because Almaleki had said his daughter dishonored his family and became too Westernized.
Faleh Almaleki is from a small Southern Iraqi town near Basra. He and his family were relocated by the U.S. military to Saudi Arabia and then the U.S. in the mid-1990s. Faleh Almaleki got a job as a truck driver in the Phoenix area and his wife worked for the military.
Almaleki wanted Noor to adhere to Iraqi traditions, but she wanted to be a typical American girl, Reckart and Mullins agreed.
Court records show that when she was 17, she refused to enter an arranged marriage in Iraq, enraging her father. She moved into her own apartment at 19 and began working at a fast-food restaurant but quit after her parents kept showing up at her work, insisting she return home, the document said. Later in 2009, she moved in with her boyfriend and his parents, Reikan and Amal Khalaf, after saying her parents had hit her.
"The relationship between Noor and her father had become very strained," Reckart said. "Noor wanted to live her life like those her own age, but the defendant would not allow it."
That may be true, Mullins said, but he would never intentionally harm his first born.
"For a real (Iraqi) man, for a real father, having that child is the most important thing in his world," Mullins told jurors.
But the prosecutor said Almaleki's actions after he fled the scene, including traveling to Mexico and then on to London, where he was caught, show he was running away and knew what he had done was wrong.
Mullins said he simply panicked and left at the urging of his family. When he was caught, he tried to explain to police that what had happened was an accident, telling them, "If my daughter dies, I kill myself." When Noor eventually died, Almaleki ended up on suicide watch in the jail, she said.
Prosecutors plan to begin calling witnesses in the case Tuesday. The trial could take several weeks.
Almaleki, 50, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault and leaving the scene of a serious injury accident. If convicted of first-degree murder, he could get a life sentence.
Published: Wed, Jan 26, 2011
