Elderly Man Found Guilty of Hate Crime Shooting of Son, Stabbing Wife to Death
Shehadeh Khalil Issa
LOS ANGELES – The District Attorney’ Office announced late yesterday that Shehadeh Khalil Issa (71) was found guilty by jury of two counts of willful, deliberate and premeditated murder with a special circumstance allegation of multiple murders in case PA086010.
The homeless man fatally stabbed his wife at their North Hills home and then shot his son to death outside of the house, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office added. Deputy District Attorneys Emily Cole and Leila Tahmassebi prosecuted the case..
Prosecutors said that the defendant killed his wife, Rabihah Shibi Issa, 68, with a knife on or between March 27 and 29, 2016. Next, on March 29, 2016, Shehadeh Issa used a shotgun to kill his son Amir Issa, 38. The case was investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department.
According to evidence presented at trial, police responding to the family’s home after the shooting discovered the bodies of Amir Issa outside of the house and Rabihah Issa’s body was found inside a bathroom.
The murders were motivated by the defendant’s desire to sell the house they all shared and an extreme hatred of his son’s sexuality, prosecutors said.
The jury also found true a hate crime allegation and allegations of use of a knife and a shotgun as deadly weapons.
Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 26th, in Department E of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, San Fernando Branch. Issa faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
