Husband arrested 8 months after US killing of Iraqi woman
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EL CAJON, California (AP) - Eight months after the beating death of an Iraqi-American woman that drew international attention because it appeared to be a hate crime, the woman's husband has been arrested on suspicion of her murder.
Police in the San Diego suburb of El Cajon announced the arrest Friday of Kassim Alhimidi, 48, and described the killing as an act of domestic violence.
The March killing of 32-year-old Shaima Alawadi made waves around the world after the couple's 17-year-old daughter told reporters that she found a note by her mother's bludgeoned body that read: "Go back to your country, you terrorist."
The case, however, took a wholly different direction on Thursday when Alhimidi was taken into custody after being called into the police station, said El Cajon Police Chief Jim Redman, who declined to comment on the evidence or elaborate on a possible motive but said there were no other suspects.
