Photo: Saveeta Barnes/Go Fund Me; National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
A Florida man accused of fatally shooting his teen daughter and niece — who also happened to be his girlfriend — has been charged with capital murder.
On Tuesday, following his extradition from New York, where he had fled from Virginia, where the shootings allegedly occurred, Abdool Z. Zaman was charged with two counts of capital murder, theEpoch Times,CBS6,andWRICreport.
Zaman, who was arrested in Queens, NY, in December, has been accused of gunning down his daughter Vanessa Zaman and girlfriend Leona Samlall, both 18. Samlall’s mother was reportedly married to Zaman’s brother.
Vanessa grew up not knowing who her father was, her mother, Saveeta Barnes, wrote on aGoFundMe page.When Vanessa turned 18, she tracked down Zaman, who lived in Orlando.
“Even after telling her countless times that he was not a good person, she still went ahead and moved in with him,” Barnes wrote.
Henrico County, Virginia Sheriff’s Office
Barnes told theRichmond Times-Dispatchthat when Vanessamoved in with her father, he was living with Samlalland their three-month-old child in Orlando.
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When Vanessa became worried for her cousin’s safety, she helped Samlall move, with her child, out of Zaman’s home and into her mother and stepfather’s home in Virginia.
The teens had been in Highland Springs for only a week before they died. Samlall’s child is now in the custody of her mother, who married Zaman’s brother, the paper reports.
“Vanessa died a hero protecting others while paying with her dear life,” Barnes wrote. “Gone but will never be forgotten.”
Zaman’s attorney, Matt Ackley, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
source: people.com
