EL CAJON, Calif. – A California jury has reached a verdict in the trial of an Iraqi immigrant charged with beating his wife to death — a killing that police at first suspected was a hate crime.
The San Diego County Superior Court said Thursday that the verdict would be read at 1:30 p.m. PDT. Kassim Alhimidi faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of murdering his wife, Shaima Alawadi.
Alawadi died in March 2012 after she was found in a pool of blood at the family home in El Cajon (kuh-HOHN'), one of the nation's largest enclaves of Iraqi immigrants.
A note found near the woman read: "This is my country, go back to yours, you terrorist." Lab tests determined it was a photocopy.
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