Nearly 12 weeks later, no arrests made in beating of Muslim woman
Interfaith groups believe attack was a hate crime
Nearly 12 weeks ago, 58-yearold Leila Hanichet was attacked as she walked home from her morning prayer at the Islamic Society of Milwaukee.
A man she had never seen before drove up in a white car and called to her. She refused to go over. The man got out of the car. She says he pulled her headscarf, punched her in the face and threw her to the ground as he continued to beat her and slash at her with a large key or razor.
She thought she was going to die.
As of Thursday, no arrests had been made in the case.
The Islamic Society and other interfaith groups called it a hate crime, saying they believed the man had asked Hanichet to remove her hijab, or headscarf, before attacking her.
But Milwaukee police have said from the beginning they were not investigating it as one.
“It seems to me that they just kind of shut the door and are happy to keep this as an open case, that’s very scary,” said Munjed Ahmad, an attorney and member of the Islamic Society’s executive committee.
In response to a request for any records related to the investigation, the Police Department released just 10 pages, the last one dated April 20.
Police usually do not release reports of ongoing investigations. The Journal Sentinel’s request for the documents in Hanichet’s case initially was denied for that reason; they were released Wednesday in response to a second request.
The incident has drawn widespread media coverage. Local media outlets, including the Journal Sentinel, reported on faith groups’ calls for it to be investigated as a hate crime. Recently, conservative media outlets have pointed to the police reports as proof it was not a hate crime.
According to the reports, Hanichet told police three separate times she did not think it was a hate crime and believed the beating possibly had something to do with her estranged daughter. The reports say she also told police the man did not try to take her hijab and she did not agree with media coverage of the attack.
On Thursday, Hanichet said that’s not accurate.
The attack could have been motivated by her religion and she has said so from the beginning, she told reporters.
“Why did he take my hijab off and throw it on the floor?” she asked. “I said he tore my hijab. I told everybody . ... I was trying to hold my hijab, he’s trying to take it and throw it on the floor. I told everybody.”
Hanichet, who speaks in halting English, said she was not sure why officers wrote what they did in the reports.
One possibility is that a friend of hers suggested the attack could have been related to Hanichet’s daughter. The friend, who speaks fluent English and was with Hanichet when police questioned her, is the one who came up with that idea, according to Hanichet and Othman Atta, an attorney and Islamic Society member.
Officers did not interview Hanichet’s daughter, nor did they bring aninterpreter to interview Hanichet, according to the police reports. A detective showed Hanichet a photo lineup with a targeted suspect, but she did not identify anyone in the photos as the man who attacked her.
A police spokesman did not answer questions about the daughter, the lack of an interpretand er or whether they had talked to the “targeted” man in the photo lineup.
Instead, the department issued a two-sentence statement:
“The Milwaukee Police Department remains confident that a thorough and complete investigation was conducted in this incident and that the victim’s statements to MPD Detectives were accurate. MPD’s investigation is ongoing and we continue to seek a suspect.”
Hanichet described the man who attacked her as a stocky Hispanic man in his 20s and about 5 feet 6 inches tall. She said the man had a solid tattoo on his right hand and was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt pulled over his head, covering most of his face.
The Islamic Society does not want that attack to be a hate crime because then it will “stoke more fears in our community,” Ahmad said.
“Whoever did this, I don’t care why he did,” Ahmad said. “Our position has always been, let’s not shut the door on any reason for this, so we’re not missing some leads.”
As for Hanichet, all she wants is for the man who beat her to be held accountable.
“I want to catch him, soon as possible,” she said. “See him with my eyes.”