Going West: True Crime - Ola Salem // 340

Episode Date: September 15, 2023

In October of 2019, a 25-year-old woman who volunteered at a shelter helping victims of domestic violence was found murdered in a Staten Island park. As police dug deeper into her personal life, they ...learned there were multiple men in her life who seemed to want revenge against her, leading them to a shocking suspect. This is the murder of Ola Salem. BONUS EPISODES Apple Subscriptions: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/going-west-true-crime/id1448151398 Patreon: patreon.com/goingwestpodcast CASE SOURCES 1. Asiyah Center Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/AsiyahCenter 2. Boxing 24/7: https://www.boxing247.com/boxing-news/kkabary-salem/167807 3. NY Post: https://nypost.com/2020/12/19/nypd-tracks-man-to-middle-east-in-si-murder-of-his-daughter/ 4. Muslim Girl: https://muslimgirl.com/domestic-violence-advocate-ola-salems-father-charged-with-her-murder/ 5. SI Live: https://www.silive.com/news/2020/12/man-52-charged-with-murdering-daughter-had-decorated-boxing-career.html 6. Bloody Elbow: https://bloodyelbow.com/2021/01/05/egyptian-olympic-boxer-kabary-salem-charged-murder-daughter-crime-sports/ 7. Brick City Boxing: http://brickcityboxing.com/2021/01/01/boxing-dementia-boxers-take-lives-loved-ones/ 8. Daily News: https://www.newspapers.com/image/703881888/?terms=kabary%20salem&match=1 9. Associated Press: https://apnews.com/article/5fcd70a1719948c88ebcbd30a241f23b 10. ABC7NY: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKdgK5vVtEY 11. Gothamist: https://gothamist.com/news/death-brooklyn-woman-unapologetic-muslim-advocate-ruled-homicide?utm_source=R%26I+Clips+(Coalition)&utm_campaign=1ccb20a422-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_08_15_02_10_COPY_02&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3a915757be-1ccb20a422-391854921&fbclid=IwAR2VPszRPFp7qUlh_t4ZJAR5tJawM_JRyIqlf3qvhKurDkjajP6zSRdrlK8 12. Gothamist: https://gothamist.com/news/brooklyn-muslim-teen-takes-credit-for-rye-playland-hijabs-riot 13. CBS New York: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUKnlgsbHcA 14. Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/ola-salem-new-york-muslim-woman-found-dead-staten-island-a9184521.html?utm_source=reddit.com 15. Olympedia: https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/1848 16. New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/24/nyregion/ola-salem-killing-staten-island.html 17. SI Live: https://www.silive.com/crime/2020/10/a-25-year-old-womans-body-found-in-the-park-a-mystery-and-a-search-ensues.html 18. The Journal-News: https://www.newspapers.com/image/165827639/?terms=ola%20salem&match=1 19. Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ramadan 20. New York Post: https://nypost.com/2005/08/04/playland-horror-boy-7-found-dead-in-water-ride/ 21. Encyclopedia Britannica: https://www.britannica.com/event/Egypt-Uprising-of-2011 22. GoFundMe:  23. CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/boxer-randie-carver-dies/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript
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Starting point is 00:00:00 What is going on True Crime fans? I'm your host Tee Thin. And I'm your host Daphne. And you're listening to Going West. Hello everybody. Hope you're having a good day, a good week. It's Friday. If you're listening on the day of Big things to Preston for recommending this case. Really appreciate you sending this one over to us
Starting point is 00:00:32 It is just wild to me that this case has not seen significantly more attention than it has this was a tougher one to research Just due to the lack of details some which are conflicting, which we will of course mention in the episode if there's any contradictory statements and information, but overall just such a devastating story that needs more eyes and ears on it for sure. Daphne, I think you covered all the bases thus far, so let's not waste any time, let's get into today's case. Yes, let's not waste any time, let's get into today's case. Yes, let's do it. All right, guys, this is episode 340 of Going West.
Starting point is 00:01:09 So let's get into it. In October of 2019, a 25-year-old woman who volunteered at a shelter helping victims of domestic violence was found murdered in a Staten Island park. As police dug deeper into her personal life, they learned that she was allegedly being stalked prior to her death. And it was this tip that led police to an unassuming and horrific suspect. This is the story of Olesalam. Ola Salem was born in August of 1994 in New York City, New York. Her parents, Fatma and Cabari Salem immigrated to the United States from Egypt and settled in the Coney Island neighborhood, which is a peninsula in the southernmost part of Brooklyn. Ola grew up alongside a twin brother named Ali, and a younger brother named Omar, and
Starting point is 00:02:54 at some point her family relocated from Brooklyn across the Bay to Staten Island. They settled on the eastern shore in the Rosebank neighborhood of Staten Island, which is just north of the famed Verazano bridge that connects Staten Island and Brooklyn. Her family was devoutly Muslim, which is a faith that Ola was immeasurably proud of and took great pride in following. Her family was also quite private, so much so that very little information has been made available about them and their backgrounds. Despite her father actually being a public figure as we will get into, but it's not even
Starting point is 00:03:33 clear how many siblings she really has, though it is possible that she has a couple of sisters just based on the reports of who lives in her last known address. I mean, like I said earlier, it is a shame that there isn't more that's been made public about this story. But regardless, those who knew Ola as a friend and colleague have been proud to speak out about her since her death. She was known by her friends as empowered, strong, and joyful, and a friend that she volunteered with, which we'll also dive into soon, remembered, quote, she's just one of those people that, you know, touches you.
Starting point is 00:04:08 She makes you feel that love from her because she's just so positive. And she's always wanting to give and just never asks for anything in return. Another of Ole's friends, who's Dawn Yadarwish, remembers her bright spirit and how light-hearted she remained regardless of her circumstances. She would frequently break into dances or songs like anything to lighten the mood, and she also loved a good Netflix binge, especially Black Mirror. She's great taste, and she really cherished having late-night meals at 24-hour diners with her friends.
Starting point is 00:04:43 Ola's dad Cabari was a minor celebrity as an athlete and well-regarded in his field as well. So starting in the 1980s, Cabari began rising to fame in the boxing world in his home country of Egypt. He was characterized as a rough and tough, sometimes dirty fighter, and he represented Egypt in the Olympics in the 1992 games in Barcelona, Spain, as well as in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia. And so because of this, he earned the nickname, the Egyptian Magician for his brute force intact. However, his career was not without its controversies, because in Kansas City on September 12, 1999, Cabari fought hometown
Starting point is 00:05:26 hero and native Randy Carver. The referee noted that Randy seemed tired about halfway through the fight and wasn't pushing back with his usual vigor. So after repeated headbutts from Cabari, which many spectators said was a bit overkill, Randy fell to the ground in the 10th round and never managed to get back up. After this, the fight was called, and Randy lost a match for the first time in his career, but only because he fell unconscious while still in the ring and never came out of it.
Starting point is 00:05:58 Now he remained unresponsive after being rushed to the hospital and into emergency surgery and died after two days on life support. Following his victory, if you can even call it that, Kabari was asked about his reaction to the events that unfolded that evening, and he responded, quote, it's his hometown, you know? If it goes 12 rounds, he wins. I hope he's fine. I feel bad.
Starting point is 00:06:21 What can I say? It's a fight. Kabari continue to fight regularly for six more years until a string of three losses in a row forced him into retirement. But he kept training and made sure to instill a love of the sport in his children. For example, his son Omar Kabari's Salem is now also a boxer. Kabibari continued on to be a professional driver and later decided to open a restaurant in Pennsylvania. The Salem children grew up in the boxing gym
Starting point is 00:06:52 alongside their father and all of them were gifted athletes. Ola also enjoyed leading religious discussions at her schools and frequented the Muslim-American Society Youth Center of Brooklyn. But as kind as Ola was, she was also not afraid to stand up to a challenge when she felt an injustice had been committed. For example, at just 17 years old, she made newspaper headlines for speaking out about a rule at a theme park that she felt infringed upon her religious rights. And this was regarding removing her hijab. Now this happened in August of 2011, while Ola and her family headed north up the coast
Starting point is 00:07:33 to spend the day at Playland, which is a beach side amusement park in Rye, New York that sits just minutes south of the border of Connecticut. It's most notable as being one of the principal filming locations of Tom Hanks' big, so a bunch of you can probably picture it. Love that movie. So when she wanted to ride a particular ride and an employee told her that she would need
Starting point is 00:07:56 to remove her hijab, outrage ensued, and actually a major fight began that led to a very dramatic confrontation between as many as 40 park attendees and the employees that were working the event that day. Ultimately, 15 people were arrested from the park, including Ola's father, Cabari. And three men were treated in a local hospital for injuries, so things got really intense. I'm sure Cabari was just out there punching people in the head. Yeah, he definitely was.
Starting point is 00:08:26 But of course, Ola didn't intend on anything turning into what it did. It was just like she was trying to get on a ride, and the employee told her that she would need to remove her hijab for safety reasons. But she just of course felt that was incredibly disrespectful to ask. And her brother had said that it's similar to asking a woman to like remove her shirt for a ride. And of course, she felt very disrespected by them saying this, and it's possible that the employee didn't understand the gravity of their requests, but we're just not sure.
Starting point is 00:08:55 Either way, it turned into this huge thing, but it just goes to show you that Ola just always stood up for herself and her family and her religion, and she was greatly respected by her peers for being that person. And Ola also brought this same fearlessness into her relationships as well. Sometime during the following year in 2012, Ola finished high school and started taking classes at Kingsborough Community College in the Manhattan Beach area of Brooklyn. classes at Kingsborough Community College and the Manhattan Beach area of Brooklyn. And that's where she met a man who would become her husband. But just a heads up, he has never been publicly named, and there are no discernible details
Starting point is 00:09:34 about him available online. So we can't really say much about him at this point. What we do know is that after he and Ola got married and moved in together, likely also in Staten Island, it became clear that Ola was trapped in a very abusive relationship. Eventually things became so dangerous for her that she filed a protective order against her husband, and as payback, he filed one against her as well. Fearful of what he might do, Ola took up residence at a shelter that would change the trajectory of her life forever.
Starting point is 00:10:07 The Asia women's center in Brooklyn became a pivotal part of her story, and was arguably the most lasting legacy that she left behind. So this women's shelter is the first of its kind in New York City, it's a Muslim women and children's shelter founded by Danyu Darwish, who's also been O Ole's friend for over a decade, and the shelter addresses a very specific need. There are close to a million Muslim people in New York City, a quarter of the country's population of people of the Muslim faith. But there are few resources targeting their specific demographic should they need assistance. Danyu recalls being fearful for the fate of Muslim women and mother suffering from domestic violence, eviction,
Starting point is 00:10:48 and also homelessness, as they can face Islamophobia and racism in traditional shelters. So sensing a deep need from her community, Danya stepped up and founded Asia, which operates out of a fully equipped apartment, capable of housing as many as 15 women and children at a time. When the center opened in August of 2018, Ola was its first volunteer. Danya said proudly of her friend, quote,
Starting point is 00:11:15 she was so emotionally intelligent. She could look at someone and know exactly what they're feeling and know exactly what to say to make that person smile. what they're feeling and know exactly what to say to make that person smile. When she was volunteering there, Ola assisted in the intake of new residents and had the gift of making any new resident faced with what was likely the most difficult decision of her life feel valued, seen, and at ease. Donnie recalled quote, "'Ola was so headstrong, so passionate about domestic violence survivors. She had an incredible level of humility.
Starting point is 00:11:48 She was also a very active member of the Muslim-American society, and assisted in organizing charitable events for breast cancer awareness. Danya continued, quote, any event that happened, she was usually the first person there. She always took to driving victims into the shelter to appointments and commitments and wanted to start driving for rideshare services just to earn some money and enjoy the freedom that came with it. When Ola's marriage became tumultuous and she really needed a safe place to go, Asia was a natural next step for her, but there's some confusion as to where she wound up when she moved out. Most sources claim that she moved back in with her family and their apartment on Deal Court
Starting point is 00:12:29 of Staten Island, but a few have claimed that she actually moved back in with her husband. Either way, neighbors of her parents have cited frequent police activity at the home. By September of 2019, so about a month before her murder, the New York Police Department confirmed that they had been called to the residence five times. One of these visits ended with Ola being removed from the premises in an ambulance, though the circumstances and person to blame are unclear. Multiple neighbors have claimed that there were problems in the home as well as frequent disturbances and commotion. This Alem's neighbor across the street, Emmanuel, said that on one occasion, a fight broke
Starting point is 00:13:16 out between some family members stating that, quote, There were two men. One was really getting a little violent, I thought, and the other one had to put a stop to his violence or his anger. These incidents only served as a harbinger of the horrors to come when a woman's body turned up in a statin island park. At public mobile, we do things differently. From our subscription phone plans to throwing a big sale right now when no one else says, well, maybe they are, but who cares, our sale is better. And it's on right now, no waiting necessary. You have the latest phone, now take advantage of a great price on a 5G subscription phone
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Starting point is 00:14:34 Eligible only on transfers from another financial institution. Apply today at MotiveFinancial.com slash GIC120. Limited time offer conditions apply. MotiveFinancial.com slash GIC 120 limited time offer conditions apply motive financial dot com slash GIC 120 On October 24th, 2019, a jogger running into a wooded area near Bloomingdale Park spotted what looked like someone lying down in the brush along the trail. Upon further inspection, it was a fully clothed body with no obvious signs of violence, so it was a strange finding from the start, but it would soon be determined that the person in the brush was deceased, and that person
Starting point is 00:15:32 was Ola Salem. Ola was still clad in her hijab, and had been covered half-hazardly with sticks and leaves. From the marks on the ground, it appeared as if she had been dragged through the grass to her final resting place. Within hours, the body was confirmed to belong to 25-year-old Ola Salem. The park was around 12 miles or 19 kilometers from her family's home, so how she got to that particular location and what exactly happened was initially a complete mystery. Well, and it's interesting that her body was found, like you said, haphazardly covered with sticks and leaves as if someone had very briefly tried
Starting point is 00:16:14 to hide her body, but obviously not nearly well enough considering a jogger just strolled by and very obviously found her there. Yeah, and it's weird that, you know, this is the second week in a row that we're talking about, a body being covered by like sticks and leaves and stuff like that, because we did, we talked about that with Jeanette Diploma. We did, yes. But there was also controversy with that,
Starting point is 00:16:36 and that kind of unclear feeling of if somebody had tried to cover her up or why the sticks and leaves were there. But in this case, it does seem like somebody had made a poor attempt at covering her body, but luckily it was found very quickly. Exactly, and a little bit more on her body, so detectives quickly came to believe from how she was positioned that she had been killed elsewhere, then transported by car, and then dumped in the park. And due to the nature of the crime, they considered it highly unlikely that it was random.
Starting point is 00:17:07 It seemed like whoever did this to her was someone who had known her or targeted her specifically for whatever reason. Now as you can imagine, her community was shocked and saddened by the sudden, senseless loss. Especially since Ola was known to help so many other women who were put in dangerous situations. It was just a very eerie and disturbing outcome for her. So two days after the discovery, the Muslim American Society Youth Center, where Ola was still an active participant and event organizer,
Starting point is 00:17:39 held a prayer service for her that drew hundreds of attendees. Her family was lifted in support and prayer by everyone around them, and Ola was remembered for her kindness, her boundless energy, and generosity of spirit. So the community had just waited anxiously to hear more about what had happened to her and why, because to them and just everybody that knew her, it didn't make sense how something like this could have happened to her, and they couldn't understand who would have committed such an act. But of course, those who were familiar with the details of her abusive marriage, wondered if her husband had been behind this.
Starting point is 00:18:19 In November of 2019, so shortly after finding her body, the medical examiner ruled her death a homicide and determined that it had been caused by its fixation due to net compression, and that just essentially means that she was suffocated. In a statement released after her death, the Asya woman center wrote wrote quote, Ola Salem once called the ASEA woman center a true friend. And that is what we sought to be in her life and now in her death. She was a committed volunteer and passionate about alleviating the pain of domestic violent survivors.
Starting point is 00:18:57 She lived in our center for months, often assisting with the intake process. She was a beacon of hope and positivity for many. We can still hear her infectious laughter emitting through our walls and we're envisioning her presence with us. Simply put, she brought joy to everyone she interacted with. We hope to repay her as a token in her honor of the authentic and incredible life that she lived by organizing a charity campaign to raise money for domestic violent survivors in her name. The Asya woman's center created a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for domestic violent survivors in Ola Salem's name, and although the campaign is still accepting donations,
Starting point is 00:19:39 we've linked it in the description of the episode, so far it has raised over $16,000. Daniel Darwisch explained in an interview about Ola, quote, she came to us with her problems, but when she saw the other women, she took the other active role as a volunteer, really connecting with them. She knew that they were going through and tried to help them, even driving them to appointments. She was outgoing, she went skydiving, she was a very lovely person, but just because you have a smile in public doesn't mean that everything is okay. And that was her.
Starting point is 00:20:13 But her getting dragged through the forest, that is just surreal. Danya also found it very puzzling because she claims her friend possessed abnormal strength and could likely fight off in a saline unless they were particularly skilled at what they were doing. I mean, remember, she was a fighter's daughter after all, so Donia remembered, quote, she was very, very strong. It beats me how if this was a murder, how anyone could have killed her because she was stronger than some men.
Starting point is 00:20:45 As Daphne touched on, Ola's former husband seemed to be the most plausible suspect, but due to certain talks about the people in her home, investigators turned suspicions on her family as well. Her family seemed as shell-shocked as anyone else in the community, and all claimed that they had no idea what had happened to her, and of course that they hadn't hurt her themselves. In an interview with the New York Times after his daughter's cause of death was announced, Cabari discussed that before her death, Ola had complained about being fearful of someone
Starting point is 00:21:18 tailing her on the highway. He mentioned in his interview quote, she always said that somebody would follow her. He also said that he sensed that her ex-husband was involved in her death, as he was known to cause violence against her already. But no matter what had happened to her, he said that he just wanted answers for all his sake, saying quote, I want to know what happened to her. What is the reason for that? But no one tells me, I am just waiting." He described his daughter as, quote, good and beautiful,
Starting point is 00:21:51 and although it's now defunct, Cabari posted a picture of him with Ola on his official boxing Instagram page, writing in the caption, quote, I miss you and love you, RIP my love. However, despite his persona of a devoted and grieving father, police noted a few suspicious circumstances in the days and weeks following her death. Strangely, a search of his car yielded Ola's phone, and when police asked why it was there in the first place, Kabari simply explained that Ola had ridden with him in the family car that day, and that she had likely dropped it. But what was more suspicious was that after this, Cabari left the United States, just shortly
Starting point is 00:22:35 after his daughter's death, leaving his family behind. He was also still in the process of opening his restaurant in Pennsylvania at this time, making the move even more questionable. It just really wasn't a good time for any reason to leave with all the work that he had and the interest in getting justice for his daughter. Yeah, it just definitely raised a big old red flag. So in the same New York Times piece that Kabari was interviewed for, you know, the one where he painted this portrait of himself as a bereft father.
Starting point is 00:23:05 One source said that tensions were rising in the family, as he felt that Ola was becoming too westernized and was abstaining from the traditions of Egyptian culture and their religion. Now this anonymous source even claimed that Ola wanted to stop wearing her hijab, though this claim has not been confirmed. But either way, all of this apparently infuriated her father, Cabari. Another source claimed that Ola had started dating a new man, so she's obviously not with her ex-husband anymore, and this new guy is somebody that for whatever reason, Cabari
Starting point is 00:23:43 did not approve of so you can imagine Maybe he wasn't of the Muslim faith or he was Westernized possibly exactly or something exactly. I think that that could Could have been the situation, but we're not sure and we also don't know who this person was or if they were ever looked at But anyway this source called her outspoken and not timid, claiming that she was forging her own path. Though they have not publicized their findings, the police deemed Cabari Salem the number one suspect in the murder of his daughter.
Starting point is 00:24:19 And this is such a scary claim to make. I mean, we have covered a lot of cases where the family has looked at as they almost always are in some way, mostly just as a precautionary measure to be able to rule out the victims in our circle. But it can be very touchy to do this, just knowing that the family is grieving and pointing a finger at them can be very insulting. But there are just way too many flags here
Starting point is 00:24:44 for police to ignore. Exactly, and they felt pretty strongly about this. Right, but in order to indict him on charges, they had to know where he was because, remember, he had left the US, which made this whole situation so much more complicated. I mean, we got to look at the facts here. He had told police that she had a stalker that somebody was following her. Obviously, that's not very much information to give. It's super broad. But nobody else mentioned a stalker. Nobody else had any information to further this claim. They must have ruled. We couldn't
Starting point is 00:25:18 find this out quite yet, but they must have ruled that her ex-husband was not involved in some way or surely he would have been a prime suspect. And then we know that the person was stronger than Ola despite her being very strong, who's stronger than her boxer dad. Right, Kabari was, you know, a world-class boxer, so yeah, he could have easily overpowered Ola. Absolutely, and then of course, the fact that shortly after she died, when you think that he would want to stick around, open the restaurant that he had been working so hard on, and find justice for his daughter, like you mentioned,
Starting point is 00:25:57 he would stay in the area. It's just so weird that he picked up and left that nobody knew where he went, and that he just left his family. And yeah, exactly. And for all of these reasons, this is why police are now like hyper-focused on Cabari. Right. And why he is a bigger suspect or person of interest than anybody else in her life. So after searching a year for Cabari, which looks even more sus that he's gone for that long. Cabari was finally located in either Egypt or Kuwait.
Starting point is 00:26:30 Now sources have reported both, but the most reliable source, which includes the New York Times, have stated that he was ultimately found in Kuwait. So he's believed to have initially flown back to Egypt to hide out among family, and later fled to Kuwait, likely when he believed that the police were catching on to where he was. And on December 3rd, 2020, the International Criminal Police Organization, commonly known as Interpol, coupled with US Marshals and a fugitive task force especially appointed New York and New Jersey State police, finally narrowed in
Starting point is 00:27:06 on Cabari. The apri handed him, they quarantined him because this was in the height of COVID, and then extradited him back to the United States. Though the district attorney has been incredibly tight-lipped about the details of their findings, we now know that two days before Ola was found, Cabari rented a car from a local Avis rental car. Using that rental car, he drove all over Staten Island in the days surrounding the murder, including a stop at the park in which Ola's body was found. I mean, how do you come back from that?
Starting point is 00:27:41 Right? So it's believed that he convinced Ola to come with him to the restaurant that he supposedly was opening in Pennsylvania on the evening of October 23, 2019. Later that evening, or early the morning of October 24, he strangled her with his bare hands and then drove her lifeless body back to Staten Island where he dumped her in that park.
Starting point is 00:28:04 Which just really makes you question the motive. drove her lifeless body back to Staten Island where he dumped her in that park. Which just really makes you question the motive. Like, if he did this and it was premeditated, if it was, did he want to kill her because she was becoming too westernized and he felt like he was going against their religion? Or did they get in an argument and his anger got the best of him and then he killed her like to dump your own child's body like that to drag it through the grass to cover it haphazardly with leaves and sticks like how could you do that. So that makes me wonder if it was premeditated and for whatever reason he just did this
Starting point is 00:28:43 to her. Yeah, or if possibly, you know, he, like you said, just kind of flew off the handle and couldn't control himself and, you know, took it too far. But here's the thing, we don't cover a lot of cases where fathers kill their daughter. No. We do cover, we have covered cases of fathers killing their family
Starting point is 00:29:05 like their entire families but this is a very odd case because it just really doesn't happen that often so a few months ago we covered the murder of a rushi tall war now this was on patreon or apple podcast so you have to subscribe to listen but this is a case that happened in india and it's basically where this girl was murdered, a Rushi Talwar, she was murdered,
Starting point is 00:29:27 and there was a theory that her parents killed her and that it was an honor killing. Now an honor killing is basically the murder of a woman or a girl by male family members, and this can be justified by claiming that the girl or the female family member brought dishonor upon the family name. So we looked this up a little bit for us because in that case that was for an Indian case
Starting point is 00:29:55 and here we're talking about an Egyptian family of Muslim faith. And this does sometimes happen across Muslim nations and in Egypt. So I really wonder if that's what this was. If he felt like this was an honor killing because the really disturbing part about this is they don't really feel, or as far as we've researched, they don't really feel any shame towards this. They feel like the girl or the female
Starting point is 00:30:22 is what's causing the shame and by killing them They are fixing the problem and they're not thinking of it like I just murdered my child Yeah, it's like looked at totally differently. Yeah, and it's it's it's one of those like Things that they claim is like a traditional value like it's it's actually In some nations it's respected among traditions Which is so crazy to even think about that you could carry out the murderer of one of your loved ones in order to cleanse your family name, but I do agree.
Starting point is 00:30:53 I wonder if this is the case here. Yeah, I wonder too, because that would seem to connect. Again, I don't know in their particular faith and where they come from if honor killings are traditionally practiced, or I don't even know how often this happens, but I don't know in their particular faith and where they come from if honor killings are traditionally practiced or I don't even know how often this happens, but I wouldn't be surprised if that is kind of the origin of this murder is an honor killing. Well, we did talk about the fact that he was, you know, pissed off or annoyed that she was becoming westernized.
Starting point is 00:31:21 So that right there leads me down a road of speculation of possibly this could be why. Yeah, and we would have never known about this if it wasn't for a Rushi Talwar's case because in our research, the idea of an honor killing did not come up regarding all this case, so but still, I definitely wonder if that's what happened here.
Starting point is 00:31:42 Me too, and hopefully we do find out. So after Kabari's arrest, the Staten Island District Attorney announced, quote, Throughout the course of this tragic case, we had never lost hope that the alleged killer would be arrested and charged. We will continue to work tirelessly to hold this defendant accountable for the brutal act of violence that he's been accused of committing against his own daughter. Now the last update was in late 2020, when Kabari Salem was arraigned on seven counts, including second-degree murder, strangulation, first-degree manslaughter, and concealment of a corpse. That's almost three years without an update.
Starting point is 00:32:23 What the hell? Yeah, I don't know why we're not getting public updates about this case, but seems odd. achievement of a corpse. Khabari did inter-apply of not guilty, and he's also obtained legal counsel, but has yet to make a statement regarding his alleged innocence. The last published update placed the 55-year-old boxer waiting trial in the infamous Rikers Island prison, which is between Queens and the Bronx, and has been voted to close by 2026. His family is not commented on the arrest, except when Ole's brother Omar stated that the family was devastated by her loss. We'll likely know more when the case goes to trial whenever
Starting point is 00:33:03 that will be, but some speculators are wondering if maybe Cabari suffered a head injury such as CTE or chronic traumatic encephalopathy known to plague former football players. So they're wondering if maybe in a fight he got hit in the head and then he suffered CTE and then that caused him to kind of act out like by killing his daughter. I think that was a big thing with some wrestlers as well. There's a documentary about a wrestler named Crispin Wa who they talk about CTE and how some like brain injuries could have caused him to kill his family.
Starting point is 00:33:40 Well, it kind of does make sense because CTE can lead to like excessively aggressive behavior and uncontrollable impulses and outbursts, but again, this is just a total theory. Nobody knows if this happened or has any kind of idea of when this would have happened. Yeah, it's just pure speculation. Again, though, I really think honor killing is up there. But until we know more, it's really hard to fathom why Olas' own father would commit such an atrocious act against her. If you have any information about the murder of Olas' Alam, please call the Staten Island
Starting point is 00:34:16 Police Department at 1-800-577-TIPS or 8477. If you'd like to donate to the Asia Asias Women Center, you can visit their website at asyawomencentra.org. That's ASIYAH WomenCenter.org or visit OlasGoFundMe page. And again, the link is in for listening to this episode of Going Last. Yes, thank you guys so much for listening to this episode and on Tuesday we'll have an all new case for you guys to dive into. Please make sure that you share this story. I really, really hope that there are some answers soon, that the trial occurs soon. I mean, if he's just sitting in prison, if you'll take a lot of
Starting point is 00:35:09 the cases that got held up due to COVID have been back in the work. So I'm really surprised that after over two and a half years, this case has not moved to trial. So hopefully there will be news sometime soon and maybe even he will confess or give answers as to why and how it all happened but we'll keep you guys updated. Also make sure that you go check out our socials if you want to see pictures and photos from this episode and all the other cases that we've covered thus far. We're on Instagram at Going West Podcast, Twitter at Going West Pod. We're also on Facebook, we have a discussion group, so you can share your thoughts there.
Starting point is 00:35:48 All right, guys, so for everybody out there in the world, don't be a stranger. 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5%
Starting point is 00:36:18 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% you

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