SOLVED NY - Tala Farea, 16, Rotana Farea, 22, Hudson River, 24 Oct 2018- COD released: suicide/drowning

[madamx]

This appears to be the original source for the "selfie" picture.

Lawyer entrusted tofollow up on the case

Are you sure?.. I recall it was before Oct 30 this.. Some person posted it on a NYPD thread and it was the full photo. The person was vague where they got it from.. which is why I have always questioned that photo. . It was early on this thread also but because it was thought not to be a real photo the mods deleted it.. It was Before they came out with the passport photos.
I will see if I can find it..

 

[OneEye]

Saudi Gazette on Twitter

Saudi sisters found dead in New York’s Hudson River buried in Madinah

Saudi Gazette on Twitter

And this is a rather interesting coincidence-- family of Jamal Khashoggi also would like to have him buried in Al-Baqi cemetery in Madinah-- adjacent to the holy mosque (Al- masjid Al-Nabawi):

Saudi Gazette on Twitter

** Click on photos above and newspaper image to enlarge.

Interesting that it appears to be the same single image just repeated by the different 'news' organizations. You would think in a crowd that size that there would be different images floating around and picked up by the media. Still waiting for this all to be confirmed by Western press or NYPD.

 

[OneEye]

.

Here is a list of other publications in KSA for future reference:
List of newspapers in Saudi Arabia - Wikipedia

 

[K_Z]

There is no way the girls in the selfie picture are the same people as the passport picture. Which one is supposed to even be which? Both girls in the selfie picture have a more narrow nose than the passport girls.

Agreed. The "selfie" duo looks nothing like the ID photos released, which look nothing like the forensic drawings. I was rather shocked that the forensic drawings were so dissimilar to the ID photos, because the forensic drawings presumably were produced from looking at the actual bodies, before they were identified-- and we are told that authorities believe the bodies were not in the water long/ not decomposed, or with facial deformities/ injuries.

It's like they are 3 different sets of girls.

Just another part of why this story as reported by many sources just isn't consistent enough across all the reports in the U.S. and the mideast to be entirely plausible.

The funeral, for example, appears to be too "high profile" for 2 young women who died under suspicious circumstance in the U.S. (after leaving home, reporting domestic abuse, staying in a shelter for 8 months, and potentially filing for asylum.)

Certainly I could see a proper burial happening, but under these egregious circumstances, I'd really expect that the funeral would have been humble, quiet/ private, and definitely not showcased in the media. Particularly if it is thought that they may have committed a double suicide, "because" they voiced that they did not want to return to KSA.

I could even understand that the family may not have wanted any media reports or publicity as they claimed the bodies of the sisters, and arranged for them to be flown to KSA.

That they appear to have been buried in Madinah, at the second holiest mosque cemetery, in a rather high profile / ostentacious ceremony, is a continuing question. It just doesn't fit the circumstances, IMO.

Or maybe it was orchestrated/ planned precisely that way to present dignified "closure", and quell scrutiny and further inquiry. I don't think we will ever know the answer to that.

The whole thing is just too odd for me to accept superficially, or at face value. It doesn't fit with what I've experienced about the culture, the country, and the citizens. Too many questions.....that will never be answered.

 

[K_Z]

Are you sure?.. I recall it was before Oct 30 this.. Some person posted it on a NYPD thread and it was the full photo. The person was vague where they got it from.. which is why I have always questioned that photo. . It was early on this thread also but because it was thought not to be a real photo the mods deleted it.. It was Before they came out with the passport photos.
I will see if I can find it..

The Saudi Gazette pic is dated 10/30/2018. It's the earliest version of that pic I've found. The SG is a pretty mainstream publication as far as KSA goes. I don't think we will be able to find out how, or if, they obtained the photo and authenticated it.

The "family friend" interview (un-named family friend in KSA) was reported by the english language Arab News. The family friend is quoted as saying the sisters kept in touch with family back in KSA via snapchat.

Could this be a snap chat pic sent by the sisters that someone in KSA kept, and then gave to media?

I guess it would be nice to have it authenticated further than the SG-- even knowing they are a fairly big news organization.

The girls’ relative spoke of how humble and shy they were. They were both gifted in school; before moving to the States, Tala had a full-year scholarship from one of Jeddah’s most prestigious schools, Dar Al-Fikr. As any teen their age, they were both into fashion, but not very much into social media.

“They were private and kept to themselves most of the time, but we communicated mostly via Snapchat and it wasn’t a surprise to any of us that they wouldn’t have any accounts on other social media apps,” said the family member.

‘They were a happy family,’ says relative of Saudi sisters found dead in New York

 

[K_Z]

I also noticed another discrepancy I forgot to mention yesterday.

This arab news article above states Tala had the school scholarship BEFORE they moved to the U.S.

The girls’ relative spoke of how humble and shy they were. They were both gifted in school; before moving to the States, Tala had a full-year scholarship from one of Jeddah’s most prestigious schools, Dar Al-Fikr.

‘They were a happy family,’ says relative of Saudi sisters found dead in New York

Other sources (U.S. media) state Tala was given the scholarship to be a future student, and didn't want to return to KSA to go to school.

And finally, it appears that Tala had completed "part" of the 2017/18 school term at Fairfax County public high school in Virginia (which I found *very* odd, as the family has sufficient funds for a private school in that area). Fairfax county is the largest public school system in virginia-- it's huge.

We don't know if Tala dropped out at that point, when she went into the shelter situation, or if she continued high school studies in Virginia in another way.

A woman whose niece attended school with the sisters in Saudi Arabia said the “sisters were very close and never apart.” She said the Fareas had looked forward to going to school in the United States and had encouraged others to do the same.

Tala attended Fairfax High School for part of the 2017-2018 school year, but a spokesman for Fairfax County Public Schools said he could offer no other details because of student privacy restrictions.

‘I don’t know where my daughters are’: Odd encounter deepens mystery surrounding disappearance and deaths of Saudi sisters

This is another tidbit that has puzzled me, as well:

He said that the family moved out over the summer and that he had seen no obvious problems in the household.

“They were always pleasant,” Johnson said.

Johnson said a succession of Saudi exchange students had lived in the apartment before the Fareas.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/loca...c72cbf131f2_story.html?utm_term=.d1b674b95613

 

[madamx]

The Saudi Gazette pic is dated 10/30/2018. It's the earliest version of that pic I've found. The SG is a pretty mainstream publication as far as KSA goes. I don't think we will be able to find out how, or if, they obtained the photo and authenticated it.

The "family friend" interview (un-named family friend in KSA) was reported by the english language Arab News. The family friend is quoted as saying the sisters kept in touch with family back in KSA via snapchat.

Could this be a snap chat pic sent by the sisters that someone in KSA kept, and then gave to media?

I guess it would be nice to have it authenticated further than the SG-- even knowing they are a fairly big news organization.



‘They were a happy family,’ says relative of Saudi sisters found dead in New York

I am still looking where this damn image appeared from first and its driving me mad..
All I remember is someone on this thread posted that infamous Selfie really early on.
I want to say, it was the same day or the day after the police sketch appeared.. I along with other people were questioning where it came from.. Once the NYPD Passport photos were out, all the posts about the selfies including the selfie was deleted from this post.
I don't remember who on This thread Posted it.. Yoooohooo.. Whoever posted the selfie first please step up haha.. Help.. Maybe they can remember what thread they got it from.. All I remember it was the Full image.. Not the cropped image. It was posted by some person that was vague saying where they got it from..
Oh maybe its a snapchat image? Your right, that could be.. I forgot about the snapchat thing!..
Oh, I don't know.... but then again.. it still does not look like the passport girls.. oh this whole entire thing is all too sketchy.

 

[madamx]

Agreed. The "selfie" duo looks nothing like the ID photos released, which look nothing like the forensic drawings. I was rather shocked that the forensic drawings were so dissimilar to the ID photos, because the forensic drawings presumably were produced from looking at the actual bodies, before they were identified-- and we are told that authorities believe the bodies were not in the water long/ not decomposed, or with facial deformities/ injuries.

It's like they are 3 different sets of girls.

Just another part of why this story as reported by many sources just isn't consistent enough across all the reports in the U.S. and the mideast to be entirely plausible.

The funeral, for example, appears to be too "high profile" for 2 young women who died under suspicious circumstance in the U.S. (after leaving home, reporting domestic abuse, staying in a shelter for 8 months, and potentially filing for asylum.)

Certainly I could see a proper burial happening, but under these egregious circumstances, I'd really expect that the funeral would have been humble, quiet/ private, and definitely not showcased in the media. Particularly if it is thought that they may have committed a double suicide, "because" they voiced that they did not want to return to KSA.

I could even understand that the family may not have wanted any media reports or publicity as they claimed the bodies of the sisters, and arranged for them to be flown to KSA.

That they appear to have been buried in Madinah, at the second holiest mosque cemetery, in a rather high profile / ostentacious ceremony, is a continuing question. It just doesn't fit the circumstances, IMO.

Or maybe it was orchestrated/ planned precisely that way to present dignified "closure", and quell scrutiny and further inquiry. I don't think we will ever know the answer to that.

The whole thing is just too odd for me to accept superficially, or at face value. It doesn't fit with what I've experienced about the culture, the country, and the citizens. Too many questions.....that will never be answered.

K_Z… Kudos to you!!... You have said it all perfectly!!!...Something Just Ain't Right My Friend... Just Ain't Right!!!!

 

[JudgeJudi]

This looks like the original selfie as it's in colour. It's from a Spanish article on the story.



Hallan muertas a hermanas sauditas en río Hudson de Nueva York

 

[JudgeJudi]

This article includes a video of one of the girls being removed from the scene.

Bodies of two women tied together by duct tape wash up in Hudson River | Daily Mail Online

 

[JudgeJudi]

There's been some discussion regarding what the witness saw.

"On October 31st, a witness told police that he saw the sisters at 7 a.m. the morning of the 24th in Riverside Park on Manhattan’s Upper West Side; they were sitting about 30 feet away from each other and praying.

What We Know About the Two Sisters Found Dead in the Hudson River

 

[inmyhumbleopinion]

I am still looking where this damn image appeared from first and its driving me mad..
All I remember is someone on this thread posted that infamous Selfie really early on.
I want to say, it was the same day or the day after the police sketch appeared.. I along with other people were questioning where it came from.. Once the NYPD Passport photos were out, all the posts about the selfies including the selfie was deleted from this post.
I don't remember who on This thread Posted it.. Yoooohooo.. Whoever posted the selfie first please step up haha.. Help.. Maybe they can remember what thread they got it from.. All I remember it was the Full image.. Not the cropped image. It was posted by some person that was vague saying where they got it from..
Oh maybe its a snapchat image? Your right, that could be.. I forgot about the snapchat thing!..
Oh, I don't know.... but then again.. it still does not look like the passport girls.. oh this whole entire thing is all too sketchy.

You are so funny, madmx!

Back to subject: This may be what you are talking about. I don’t want a time-out or the thread shut down, so I am not going to discuss the actual comment, but I think it’s OK to post the link to the original (Re)Tweet by @NYPDTips, under which the interesting reply was posted. It’s at the very bottom, so you have to scroll al the way down. It’s dated 10/28/18 and by CW:

Chief Dermot F. Shea on Twitter

UNSOLVED - NY - Tala Farea, 16, Rotana Farea, 22, Bound with Duct Tape in Hudson River, 24 Oct 2018

 

[Gardenista]

Completely agree. Looks like we have 2-3 different sets of pictures. Where is the press and NYPD on this issue?

IMO, it was clear how the media was instructed to handle this when we saw some say they don't know what an honor killing is.

 

[Hatfield]

JMO
Wish we would know more about this witness sighting. Why did it take him so long to come forward and how did he even remember the exact day and exact time.

Wonder if we can tell if the MPH of the water movement would be consistent or not to the time they were found.

If witness says he saw them at 7am and if we know the exact time they were found and where they were found and the MPH of the water current then could that tell us anything about if its even possible that he saw them?

"On October 31st, a witness told police that he saw the sisters at 7 a.m. the morning of the 24th in Riverside Park on Manhattan’s Upper West Side; they were sitting about 30 feet away from each other and praying."

"On Wednesday, October 24, two women were found floating in the Hudson River, near the 68th Street pier in New York City."

What We Know About the Two Sisters Found Dead in the Hudson River

 

[x_files]

There's been some discussion regarding what the witness saw.

"On October 31st, a witness told police that he saw the sisters at 7 a.m. the morning of the 24th in Riverside Park on Manhattan’s Upper West Side; they were sitting about 30 feet away from each other and praying.

What We Know About the Two Sisters Found Dead in the Hudson River

Realistically would you be able to ID two women covered praying? ok, try this go take a walk before you head to work then quiz yourself can you ID every person you encountered?

 

[x_files]

IMO, it was clear how the media was instructed to handle this when we saw some say they don't know what an honor killing is.

This whole case stinks, something doesn't add up.

 

[Hatfield]

JMO
My biggest issue with this case is the duct tape. I just cannot fathom someone who is suicidal to use that and bind the ankles too.

I struggle to think someone would even do that to themselves and especially around the ankles.

Rope or something seems a more logical choice and only around upper body if someone wanted to do a suicide pact. I just cannot see people using duct tape at all and especially around the ankles.

I know we hear of bizarre cases but that is too much for me to believe they committed suicide.

It reminds me of the case of the alleged hanging of the babysitter woman where the boy died in a fall and she was found hanging from an upper balcony of some sort. Much speculation about her alleged suicide because she was found bound too. Cant remember what was used to bind her.

Mansion Hanging Victim Painted Note on Door

 

[x_files]

JMO
My biggest issue with this case is the duct tape. I just cannot fathom someone who is suicidal to use that and bind the ankles too.

I struggle to think someone would even do that to themselves and especially around the ankles.

Rope or something seems a more logical choice and only around upper body if someone wanted to do a suicide pact. I just cannot see people using duct tape at all and especially around the ankles.

I know we hear of bizarre cases but that is too much for me to believe they committed suicide.

It reminds me of the case of the alleged hanging of the babysitter woman where the boy died in a fall and she was found hanging from an upper balcony of some sort. Much speculation about her alleged suicide because she was found bound too. Cant remember what was used to bind her.

Mansion Hanging Victim Painted Note on Door

yes, I always thought that the case was bizarre.

 

[moonriverfarm]

Are there no school yearbooks with the girls' photos? I lean toward disbelieving the funeral photo is of the burial of these girls. Why would the news not have reported the bodies released? Something is being covered up here.

 

[dixiegirl1035]

The Hudson River has a very strong current. It's strong enough to be considered dangerous at this point in the river. Plus, it has a tide that is significant. Plus lots of river traffic that includes huge barges that create waves in the water. It is not a still body of water by any means.

Plus the sisters entered the water, likely, from the shore not straight down into the middle of the river from a bridge. So, it doesn't seem strange to me that that bodies didn't sink to the bottom and stay at the bottom. The water in the river is active. The way I see it is that they entered the water from the shore and the river movement kept them underwater but MOVING, not sinking. Then, the tide deposited them where they were found.

It's significant, imo, that they entered from the shore and went into a constantly moving river with a strong current.

What happened to the roll of tape? They threw it in the river, imo.

I don't see any conspiracy, except the plan the sisters made to die together rather awwwthan return to SA. I think at least one was facing arranged marriage and didn't want that. That rings true, imo. I also think it's a horrible tragedy and I'm so sorry they felt there was no other choice for them.

jmo

I keep thinking that if I committed suicide with my sister, I would make a statement somewhere, somehow, to publicize why I did it. I would leave a clue somewhere.