New York police: there’s no sign of foul play in death of two Saudi sisters
New York police investigating the deaths of two Saudi sisters found on the banks of the Hudson River say they were told the young women said they would rather die than return to Saudi Arabia.
Dermot Shea, chief of detectives, said investigators had so far found no evidence of foul play in the deaths of Rotana, 22, and Tala Farea, 16.
However, Mr Shea said the incident was still under investigation.
The women were found on October 24 with their waists and ankles loosely bound to each other with duct tape.
“We also have sources who say that they would rather inflict harm on themselves – commit suicide – than return to Saudi Arabia,” Mr Shea said on Friday.
He believed that they had asked for asylum in the US.
The sisters were last seen by their family in Virginia on November 30 last year. They had been living in a “shelter-like” centre in Virginia and detectives were aware of allegations of abuse within the family, although these had not been confirmed.
Travel records showed the sisters arrived in New York about September 1.
“We have them staying at a number of high-end hotels in New York City during this time,” Mr Shea said.
He said they were seen on security camera footage in apparently good health.
But that changed when they began to run out of money and their credit card was “maxed out”, Mr Shea said.
An early morning exerciser, who came forward because of a “story that is haunting him”, found the young women 10 metres apart in a park close to the Hudson River at about 7am.
“They were sitting with their hands in their heads, their heads lowered, making noises that he described as praying,” Mr Shea said.
Police believed they could not have jumped from the bridge into the water because their bodies showed no injuries. Detectives now believe they may have waded in.
“It is entirely credible that the girls entered the water alive,” Mr Shea said.
He said that the tape was keeping them together, not binding them.
Mr Shea said he was still waiting for the medical examiner’s report on the cause of death, and appealed for anyone who met the sisters since August to come forward with information.