At a press conference Wednesday afternoon, Karen Hicks — the wife of the man being charged with the death of three Muslim students in Chapel Hill — emphasized her belief that Tuesday's triple homicide was not religiously motivated.
"While I am unable to comment fully on the matter, I can say it is my absolute belief that this incident had nothing to do with religion or the victims’ faith, but was in fact related to the long-standing parking dispute my husband had with the neighbors," Hicks said during the press conference held outside the Maitland Law Firm office in Chapel Hill. "Our neighbors are various religions, races and creeds."
Her husband, 46-year-old Craig Stephen Hicks, was arraigned on three counts of first degree murder Wednesday morning. He was initially being held in Durham County Jail without bond. But he was later transferred to Central Prison for safety reasons, according to reports from WRAL.
The victims were Deah Shaddy Barakat, 23, of Chapel Hill; Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, 21, of Chapel Hill; and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, 19, of Raleigh.
Barakat was a second-year student in the UNC School of Dentistry. Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, his wife, graduated from N.C. State University and was planning to begin her dental studies at UNC in the fall. Her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha, was a student at N.C. State .
Chapel Hill Police said a preliminary investigation suggests the crime was motivated by an ongoing parking dispute between neighbors, but police are exploring leads to determine if it was hate-motivated.
“This investigation is in its beginning stages. We recognize it’s not very satisfying when we don’t take questions right now, but we do not want to do anything to jeopardize what is shaping up to be a very strong investigation," Chapel Hill Police Chief Chris Blue said at a press conference in Durham on Wednesday.
“We recognize there is global interest in this story, and this is an important opportunity to reassure everyone in every community that we are going to exhaust every possible lead and use every resource we possibly can to be sure that this case comes to its appropriate conclusion. Our hearts go out to the families involved and we will do our very best for you.”
The triple homicide occurred Tuesday night at Finley Forest Condominiums on Summerwalk Circle in Chapel Hill. Officers responded to a call about gunshots in the complex at 5:11 p.m. When they arrived, they discovered three victims, who were pronounced dead at the scene.
