Prosecutors in California charged two sons Friday with murder in the killing of their parents, who were found shot to death over the weekend in their San Jose home.
The younger brother, Omar Golam Rabbi, is just 17 years old, but prosecutors are charging him as an adult. Before Omar and his brother Hasim, 22, were officially charged on Friday, news outlets had not reported his name since he is a minor.
The two brothers face two counts each of murder in the shooting deaths of their parents Golam and Shamima Rabbi.
In a jailhouse interview with the
San Francisco Chronicle on Thursday, the elder Rabbi said his little brother was not involved in the murders and that the truth will be revealed in court if the case goes to trial.
'The best thing if anyone wants to know what happened is to wait for the trial,' the 22-year-old told the newspaper.
'I want everyone to know what happened,' he added, 'but I can’t say anything without a lawyer.'
Meanwhile, sources told
NBC Bay Area that Hasib and his parents were at odds over his sexual orientation. In the family's native Bangladesh, homosexuality is strictly forbidden.
Hasib's cousin Nafees Hasan said that he had never heard about his cousin being gay, but if it were true, the 'family wouldn't have accepted that'.
Concerned friends discovered the couple's bodies on Sunday afternoon, when they broke into the home through an unlocked sliding class door.
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Before being arrested, Hasib posted a message on Facebook, writing: 'F*** yeah to the kids who feel like they’re dying inside but still gather up the strength to roll out of bed, get dressed and leave the house. You are strong and beautiful and worth so much more than you know,' The Mercury News reported.
Both brothers are being held without bond. The elder brother is expected to appear in court on Friday for a hearing.
One of Hasib's friends, Matthew Kuch, told
CBS that he hid Hasib in his bedroom closet following the murders, and that he eventually turned his friend into police out of fear for his and his family's safety.
But before that, Kuch says that Hasib confided in him details of the murders.
'He told me that he couldn’t shoot his father in the head, because that’s a dishonor, because he wanted his father to be buried with his face,' Kuch said.
Hasib also planned to create a video to throw police off his trail, Kuch claimed.
'He's going to be in his hotel room and he's going to record a video saying that he's either going to run away or commit suicide and after that he'll stop the video and I come in and beat him to make myself seem like the killer and prove his innocence,' Kuch said.
Kuch says he went along with the plan initially, out of fear that Hasib would hurt him.
He also says that his friend offered him a motive, but his explanation was just as bizarre.
'He told me that somebody has come in and tortured him for several months, and it would not stop unless he killed his parents,' Kuch said.
Police haven't released a motive in the killings or any other details.
The husband and wife often hosted relatives at their home since moving from Bangladesh to the United States.
Mr Rabbi, who was an engineer, liked to hunt and had several guns in the house, friends claim.
Evergreen Islamic Center in San Jose said the bodies of the parents were released Wednesday afternoon to relatives and the funeral is being planned for Friday at the Five Pillars Farm Cemetery in Livermore,
KNTV reports.
Mosque spokesman Faisal Yazadi did not know about the arrest of the younger son until notified by a reporter.
'Needless to say,' he said, 'this is one of those tragedies nobody ever wants to be in. All we can do is pray. This is a family matter and a police investigation.'
It was not immediately clear Thursday morning if the two sons have attorneys.
Hasan Rahim, from the Evergreen Islamic Center, said the Rabbis often attended services at the mosque.
But he said he had warned the couple of the dangers of keeping guns at home.
'I just said be careful. If you have weapons in the house be careful,' Mr Rahim said.
'I've known him for 30 plus years, so it's a loss,' he added.