Everything We Know About Murder Of Muslim Teen Nabra Hassanen And Darwin Martinez-Torres
A 22-year-old man was indicted this week for the rape and murder of a Muslim teenager in Virginia. Seventeen-year-old Nabra Hassanen was killed in June while walking to a mosque with her friends to prepare for Ramadan. Her body was found in a pond a short time later.
Darwin Martinez-Torres reportedly admitted to police that he assaulted and killed Nabra before leading them to her body. He was charged with capital murder, rape and abduction and could face the death penalty. Here is everything we know so far about Nabra’s murder, Martinez-Torres himself and what’s next in the case.
- Nabra and her friends were walking back to their community mosque from a restaurant after eating a last meal before the Ramadan fast in the early morning hours Jun. 18.
- As the group of teenagers, including Nabra, were walking back, Martinez-Torres drove past them and got into an argument with them at around 3:40 a.m. It remains unclear how the fight began or exactly what it was about.
- In the ensuing fight, he chased after them with his car, causing the teens to scatter and split up. At some point, Martinez-Torres got out of his car and chased them with a baseball bat.
- Nabra fell down in the rush to get away, at which point Martinez-Torres hit her with the baseball bat, police said. He then put her in his car and drove her to a different location where he assaulted her and killed her before dumping her body in a pond near his apartment.
- Police arrested Martinez-Torres after they found him driving suspiciously near the area they were searching for Nabra the next day. Teens involved in the altercation recognized him and told police he was the man they’d fought with.
- Authorities located her body that day in a pond near his apartment.
- Nabra’s father told reporters shortly after her death he believed she had been killed because of her faith. “He killed her because she’s a Muslim,” he said. “Why was he running behind the kids wearing Islamic clothes with a baseball stick? Why, when my daughter fell down, why did he hit her? For what? We don’t know this guy. He doesn’t know us.”
- Police and investigators, however, said they did not find any evidence that Nabra’s murder was a hate crime. Instead, they said, her killing may have been related to road rage. Fairfax County police spokesperson Julie Parker said Martinez-Torres became “enraged over a traffic encounter.”
- Nabra’s mother said she had trouble believing her daughter was involved in any kind of altercation, describing her as “scared easily.”
- Martinez-Torres eventually admitted to police he killed Nabra and led them to her body, according to a search warrant affidavit.
- It appeared Martinez-Torres had no prior connection to Nabra before that night, his aunt told reporters.
- Martinez-Torres may have been in the country illegally, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement told WTTF-TV.
- Martinez-Torres was charged with capital murder, rape and abduction.
- Prosecutors announced they would seek the death penalty in the case, making it the first capital punishment case in Fairfax County since 2011.
- A judge was set to schedule a trial date Thursday for Martinez-Torres.
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