A COPTICAL ILLUSION (Part III)

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A COPTICAL ILLUSION (Part III) It took enforcement over thirty years to determine their BTK suspect. The architect of September 11, 2001, Osama Bin Laden is still on the loose yet Jersey City enforcement working with the FBI officially solved a gruesome murder crime within two months after it took place. The motive, Jersey City police and Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio announced, was" desperate need of money" they maintained from the beginning of the investigation, not religious fanaticism as some suspected. International media reports cited spokespersons for the bereaved survivors berating enforcement for the direction of the investigation. The murdered family was brought to Washington DC where they held a press conference that focused on demands to investigate a hate crime, blaming Islamic extremists for the killings. The mourners were taken to Congress and the FBI, to request the hate crime investigation be fast tracked. The family of the murdered mother wanted one thing, the murderers be caught. No one who publicly criticised the police force has come forth to apologize to officers who did what Eyman asked for, identify, locate and arrest suspects Hamilton Sanchez, 30, and Edward McDonald, 25, the tenant in Armanious two family house, for the murders of New Jersey's Egyptian Christian Armanious family. Media too often forgets. Officers are fathers, husbands, brothers and dads intimately aware of pain from loss. The thin blue line, as enforcement is called, stretches thinner when jobs they do well go un-thanked. McDonald and Sanchez, parolees, were ordered held on $10 million bail. McDonald's prior conviction was for possession of more than 500 grams of cocaine with intent to distribute; Sanchez's parole, ten years earlier, was from a conviction for conspiring to import "significant amounts" of heroin and cocaine into the country. McDonald, until he pled not guilty along with Sanchez, continued to live upstairs from the family he murdered. Eyan Garas recalled seeing McDonald at the prosecutor's office during the investigation, "When I saw him for the first time, he was with his kids and his wife," "like an angel." The system works at its own pace, one detail at a time. Legal procedure required officers to obtain the slain family's bank records to provide evidence McDonald had withdrawn thousands of dollars from Armanious' account using Armanious ATM card and PIN. Approval delayed enforcement's announcement of arrest. Armanious had been contentious online and off with his outspoken advocacy of Coptic Christian religious freedom in Egypt and other parts of the world. Friends of Armanious, speculated the Egyptian family was butchered because his online proseltyzing under the user name "I Love Jesus," angered Muslims. Chatha Arshad, president of the Muslim Federation of New Jersey issued a statement early on, "It is unimaginable what happened. We condemn it from the whole of our heart." Sarah Issa, the director of media relations for CAIR, the Council on American Islamic Relations-New Jersey, expressed disappointment and pity that people did not "let the authorities first come to conclusions before we first jumped to speculations and accusations." Individual Muslims did try to attend the Armanious three hour funeral service at St. George and St. Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Church. Grief and rage erupted from angry church members blaming Muslims for the killings. The Muslims, amidst the hundreds of mourners screaming at them, left. A lone Muslim reporter attended the press conference in DC. He offered his condolences to the mourners. The US Coptic Association brought the bereaved family to Washington, DC, first to hold a press conference in the National Press Club then to meet with enforcement, Congressional representatives. also visiting members of Congress to assure this case is not swept under the rug. Rep. Steve Rothman, (D) Bergen County was asked to help speed the process, "They are -as you can understand - very impatient to find out who killed their family members, and killed them in such a horrific way." Meunier supporters stood alongside the Armanious family at the lectern presenting a letter demanding U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales take a close look at this case and not ignore this may be a hate crime stemming from a religious dispute played out over the internet. Rev. Keith Roderick of Christian Solidarity International and Robert Turner representing the Coalition for Religious Freedom and Human Rights, joined with Coptic Association President Michael Meunier implying a religious underpinning by suggesting the nature of the killings "mirrors the way some people have been killed in Iraq and Iran." Meunier, surrounded by the grieving family, supported by NGO's, focused media awareness raising on the family's desire to educate the world about his Coptic community, Copt's historic battle for religious freedom in Muslim communities, keeping sight of the family's primary goal of bringing the murderers bring to justice, bringing themselves to closure. Meunier said, "Muslim extremists' gruesome slaying of an innocent Coptic family is not only appalling, but disturbing in its implications for the Coptic-American community." It is possible the Armanious spokespersons demand the murders be treated in "a politically correct way" coupled with statements Meunier made such as "this was "just not a robbery - you don't rob people and do what was done to this family," frenzied the Muslim-Coptic communities with religious fear. The Garas' family, surviving their daughter, Amal, their granddaughters and son-in-law, said, "We want the media to get their information right." "As far as knowledge of our own, the family did not keep large amounts of cash in their home so as to invite such a crime." "No jewelry was taken." Hossam and his wife Amal, lived modestly with their two young girls in Jersey City." "Eyman Garas said for him "robbery is out of the discussion," "why would they have killed each person in such a cruel and vindictive manner?" Family often don't know family and most often don't know the criminal mind. An aunt of Edward McDonald told The Star-Ledger of Newark, after his arrest, the felon was "not that kind of person." "He's innocent." Meunier had advised media the couple recently took out a $120,000 loan to pay off a $50,000 debt and put the remaining money, $70,000, in a bank account. Credit card and identity theft is growing online and as learned from the Copt murders, off line, too. After discussing the murders of the Armanious family on the Michael Reagan radio show and Fox News Channel's "On the Record with Greta Van Susteren," and speaking to the Congressional Working Group on Religious Freedom chaired by Congressman Trent Franks of Arizona, addressing the state of human rights for the persecuted Copts of Egypt and the recent slaying of a Coptic-American family of four, Meunier said, "By collaborating with the Congressional Working Group, we hope to highlight the persecution of Copts in Egypt and other important issues affecting the Coptic-American community." Post McDonald's and Sanchez's arrests, Meunier endorsed "good relations between Egyptian Muslim and Christian communities both in New Jersey and abroad." Meunier expressed "the perpetrators were brought to justice and we hope that they will be severely punished." "I'm shocked at the stupidity of the killers. The guy was an ex-convict. He lived upstairs. I'm also shocked at the manner in which he killed the family, apparently for a PIN number. How much money can you withdraw for a PIN number, $300 a day?" DeFazio announced over $3,000 was taken. Meunier, early on, publicly challenged enforcement's belief the murders' were money motivated, stating that information someone was withdrawing money from Armanious' ATM accounts did not change his or the family's belief of a religious motive for the murders. Meunier said he believed the murders were professionally planned and executed, suggesting a terrorist organization could have planned ahead of time to use ATM withdrawals as a diversion. Meunier stated it would be easy to pay someone to make the withdrawals. "I think it's too stupid for someone who has committed such a heinous crime, especially a crime which left so few clues for investigators, to then do something this stupid." "The family pretty much feels it does not change much and they are puzzled at why the prosecutor would release the information." Meunier also noted "ATM machines are known to have security cameras." On that observation, Meunier was correct. Armonious' ATM card was used at several locations during the two days the bodies lay undiscovered. Enforcement identified their suspect through images of himself and his car captured in ATM machine surveillance videos. Investigators, enhancing the images, determined the make, model and year of the suspect's distinctive car. Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio had issued an early statement, "The pattern of the ATM locations speaks for itself." "It could be someone from Jersey City" using the bank card and PIN number to withdraw "thousands of dollars" from Armanious linked accounts while the family lay undiscovered in their blood soaked Oakland Avenue apartment. January 18th, Hudson county prosecutor stated evidence of robbery was present in the case. Money was not found at the scene. Armanious's pockets had been turned out. His wallet was emptied. A pocketbook was emptied. Drawers had been rifled. DeFazio advised media, investigation is "a very thorough and deliberate process," "all avenues are being explored." Legitimate media and bloggers reported on the murders. The Star-Ledger reported the relatives concern the "Hudson County prosecutor may be prematurely discounting the possibility of a religious hate crime" "convinced robbery was not the motive for the murders." Meunier said, "These were vengeful killings." Judson Cox expressed offence from "the Muslim community that refuses to condemn such acts of violence." Cox wrote, "The family was bound and tortured, before their throats were slit in accord with the instructions for executing nonbelievers, as detailed in the Koran: (47:4) "Therefore, when ye meet the Unbelievers, smite at their necks; At length, when ye have thoroughly subdued them, bind a bond firmly [on them]." "I am offended by the liberals in our culture who refuse to recognize this violent cancer in our midst that is literally killing us one person, one family and 3,000 persons at a time." Donna De La Cruz, Associated Press, reported the Garas' mourners were adamant in their belief robbery was not the motive. Daniel Pipes suggested law enforcement was "more concerned to avoid an anti-Muslim backlash than to find the culprits." Pipes wrote "Anyone following the investigation into the mid-January slaughter of the Armanious family (husband, wife, two young daughters), Copts living in Jersey City, N.J., knows who the presumptive suspects are: Islamists furious at a Christian Egyptian immigrant who dares engage in Internet polemics against Islam and who attempts to convert Muslims to Christianity." Corrie Cutrer, Christianity Today, reported police were investigating robbery as a motive because pockets of all the victims had been emptied and the family ATM card used. The handling of the case by media and non-profits focused readers on religious fanaticism. Centuries-old religious tensions between Egyptian Christians and Muslims were stirred up amidst the 30,000 Christian Copts living in the Jersey City area. Rev. Randall Day, vice president of the Teaneck Clergy Council told Associated Press the killings damaged goodwill that took generations to build up between Muslims and Christians. There are enemies the Coptic and Muslim communities might address side by side- drugs, border crossings and both legal and illegal immigrants and drug smugglers within our borders. New Mexico governor Gary Johnson, an advocate of relaxed drug laws says drug use is a victimless crime. The murder of the Armanious family is an example of how many uncounted victims there are - relatives, friends, Egyptian Christian and Muslim communities, media along with the families of the murders themselves. Most addicts have histories of arrest and incarceration called "priors" as did McDonald and Sanchez. Enforcement is only too willing to talk about the revolving door of justice. They put the bad guys away and the system puts them back out on the streets. The cost of putting a single drug dealer in jail is about $450,000; arrest and conviction, $150,000; prison bed, $50,000 to $150,000 depending upon the jurisdiction; $30,000 per year to house a prisoner, an average sentence being 5 years, another $150,000. The collateral casualties mount. This sum does not include related welfare costs for their families, the victims families and enforcement focused on the drug war. One cannot deny the crime may have been hate motivated. Armanious appeared to be the kind of guy who talked openly except to his wife's family, it seems. Amal's brothers' were unaware of Hossam's online prosletizing. According to reported statements, they were unaware how much money he had in the bank, something McDonald appeared to know. Disconnected from his own family back in Egypt, maybe Hossam talked more publicly than he should have to people he met and phantoms online. Maybe Armanious talked openly to his neighbour about God, hard work, and leaving the crime life behind. Maybe McDonald hated a family man who did not do drugs instead professing a faith guided lifestyle. Maybe McDonald hated the tWestin Princeton Hotel banquet department server and his wife a Kearny U.S. Postal Service employees, immigrants achieving the American dream of a job and a home. Maybe McDonald hated himself the man Armanious maybe reminded him he was- a parolee, a druggie, a dealer, a man without spiritual guidance. Maybe McDonald hated a man who was happy with life. There are too many "maybes" but motive, at this time, remains money. There is one more enemy Copts and Muslims and Americans might consider taking on- media, both traditional media and the new wave of bloggers, e-journalists credentialed needing only an internet account to express personal theories too often without a foundation in fact. As for Michael Muenier and supporters of the US Coptic Association he gathered, fanning a fire that did not need fueling is not a crime but wrong, having fuelled fire of fear amongst friends and neighbors that did not need kindling. Muenier might take the lead in standing before media, apologizing, publicly admitting he wronged three worlds, the Copts, the Muslims and the thin blue line, the police officers he shamed. A reality too often overlooked, on line and off, words once said they can never be taken back, retractions, or not, following. They remain in virtual libraries and in print in perpetuity where another researcher may assume the misguided statements and implications are fact. Jihad Watch Advisory Board Vice President Hugh Fitzgerald asked, "why were the Copts so suspicious?" Well, fear and "handlers" do make people behave strangely. BIO: Carrie Devorah is an award winning investigative photojournalist based in Washington DC. Her family are the first Canadians to lose a member to a terrorist bus bombing in Jerusalem. Devorah is a certified crime information analyst and profiler. Devorah said, "I learned the motivations of nonprofits and interested parties when my brother was murdered. Too often the last people they are thinking about are the bereaved." www.goldbergmemorial.org