The father of five accused of fatally shooting his wife and three daughters in their Chicago-area home had been arguing about money and later told police that his wife was a “money-hungry bitch” who ” pushed” to the massacre, according to prosecutors.
Maher Kassem, 63, has been charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the Sunday morning deaths of his wife Majeda, 53, and daughters Halema, 25, Zahia, 25, and Hanan, 24, at his home in wealthy Tinley Park.
His wife was shot seven times and each daughter twice, watched in part by one of the accused killer’s surviving sons, his first court hearing was told Tuesday.
“They’re all gone,” he allegedly confessed when the police arrived. “I’m going to go to jail.”
Kassem had recently retired and told responding troopers that his “wife is worried about the money and where she can take it,” Assistant State’s Attorney Scott Clark told the court.
“I worked my whole life to give my family a better home and they treat me like shit,” he was heard complaining to police on body camera footage, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Maher Kassem, 63, allegedly shot his wife and three daughters inside the basement of their Tinley Park home Sunday during an argument about finances. WL S
He also complained that his wife “treats me like a damn dog,” Clark said at the hearing.
“Bury me and take the money,” Kassem allegedly said, describing his recently murdered wife as a “money-hungry bitch” who “pushed me to do it.”
Clark said Kassem was arguing with one of his daughters inside the basement while his 19-year-old son was sleeping.
The boy allegedly heard his father going up and down the stairs more than once while his two other sisters and mother tried to get the father to calm down, Clark said.
Eventually, the argument turned into a shouting match and the son heard gunshots, the prosecutor said.
At that time, the unidentified son entered the basement and saw his mother lying on the floor.
He wasn’t immediately sure if he had been shot, Clark claimed, but the teen later saw one of his sisters with gunshot wounds and saw his father allegedly shoot his mother two more times before stepping over the body to shoot her. his other sister.
Kassem’s 19-year-old son was reportedly sleeping upstairs when he heard his father yelling at his sisters and mother. C.B.S.
After the shooting, prosecutors said, Kassem called police himself around 11:21 a.m. to report that his wife had been shot, but did not provide further details.
When officers arrived, Clark said they asked him where the victim was and he pointed to the basement.
“They’re gone,” he allegedly said. “Everything’s fine.”
Police then asked Kassem if anyone else had been shot, to which he responded there were four victims, Clark said.
“I’m going to go to jail,” the accused murderer allegedly told police.
At that point, Clark said, the officers asked him if “it was him,” to which he nodded.
“I’m the only one. I’m the only one,” he allegedly told police. “They’re all gone.”
Neighbors described news of the shooting as “shocking,” saying the victims and alleged killer were “such a good family who had a bright future.” C.B.S.
He also allegedly directed officers to a revolver near a pillow with four spent casings and two live bullets, as well as a 9mm pistol. Officers then found 13 9mm shell casings in the basement.
Kassem had a valid firearms identification card and no criminal record, authorities say.
A neighbor who knew the family, which includes another son, said news of the gruesome crime was “shocking” when he woke up Sunday morning, given that the victims and alleged killer were “such a good family who had a Brilliant Future”.
“My daughter knows them,” Charlotte Vaitkus told ABC 7 Chicago. “She went to school with her oldest son and hired the twin sisters. “She always talked about how everyone was very intelligent and had very high goals in life.”
Others described Kassem as a helpful gentleman who cleaned the street’s sidewalks after the last snow storm.
The mayor of Tinley Park has since described the shooting as a “senseless act of tragedy” and a “stark reminder of how quickly domestic violence can escalate.” AP
“I’ve known this guy for 30 years, I never would have expected something like this,” Frank Muchna told the Sun-Times.
The suspect’s nephew also said his family is shocked by the crime his uncle is accused of committing against the family he seemed to care so deeply about.
Before Sunday, the nephew said, his uncle would have done anything for his family, he told CBS News.
But another neighbor said she sometimes talked to the daughters, whom she described as independent and ambitious, which sometimes caused conflict with their father.
The neighbor told the Sun-Times how one of the girls complained that she wanted to learn to drive, but her father didn’t want to.
The mayor of Tinley Park has since described the shooting as a “senseless act of tragedy” and a “stark reminder of how quickly domestic violence can escalate.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn