Woman gets 2 years in jail for murdering nephew after secret affair
A woman from Texas was found guilty of killing her nephew with whom she had an affair and was reportedly sentenced to two years in prison for the "sudden passion" murder on Thursday, according to reports.
The 37-year-old woman admitted to fatally stabbing her 25-year-old nephew.
Andira Abdelaziz, last week, told a jury that she stabbed Mohammed Abdelaziz in self-defense after he started pounding on her door on August 9, 2016.
The woman's lawyer, during the hearing, claimed that her nephew had verbally and physically assaulted her throughout their three-year-relationship, which was a clandestine affair.
Reports state that jurors did not even take two hours to announce Abdelaziz's prison sentence of two years. They reportedly concluded that the woman, who had married her nephew's uncle, killed him in "sudden passion," which reduced her maximum sentence of 20 years.
Defense attorney Liz Rodriguez, while addressing the jury, said that the woman "was trying to survive. The state didn’t contest that she was a victim of domestic violence. Usually, the woman is the one who is dead … If you believe she acted in fear for her life, find that she did this in sudden passion."
Rodriguez added that the aunt would have been killed by her nephew if she had "not reacted with the instinct to survive."
According to defense attorney Mike McCrum, the woman's nephew had sent her dozens of text messages, warning that he was coming to beat her. He also reportedly called her a "daughter of a whore."
Reports state that the verdict left the woman's Palestinian-American family divided. While her 19-year-old son Mohammed was stunned and unable to speak, her husband Karim reportedly yelled in Arabic at the nephew's relatives in court, according to San Antonio Express News.
While talking to the newspaper, Mohammed Abdelaziz’s father, Aziz, there was no chance of reconcilement with the other side of the family.
"I have lost my son. Nothing will bring him back. I cannot say what should be done with Andira. Andira is a human being and me and my family don’t wish harm on anyone. We leave it with God," the father said.
He continued: “Islam asks us to forgive but also says if a life is taken, then you take a life, but I am not going there," he continued.
Reports state that the prosecutors were not looking for a specific prison term for Andira Abdelaziz. The woman had previously admitted to stabbing her nephew with a kitchen knife when he attempted to attack her again.
Prosecutor Clayton Haden said: "There is no number of years that will bring solace to his family, no number of years that will let his mom hold her son again. Somewhere between two years and out here [life in prison], there is justice."
According to KSAT's reports, Haden had previously disputed the woman's claims, claiming that she was angry at the nephew for threatening to reveal their romantic relations to the entire family.