Brothers went to anime convention after killing parents, San Jose police say
Two brothers went to an anime convention last weekend after the older sibling shot and killed their parents inside their San Jose home, newly released court documents alleged.
Prosecutors on Friday charged Hasib bin Golamrabbi, 22, and Omar Golamrabbi, 17, with two counts each of murder, the Santa Clara County district attorney’s office said. Omar Golamrabbi was being charged as an adult, prosecutors said.
The older brother admitted to shooting his father multiple times inside their garage “because a stranger whom he could not name had assaulted him in the home [and] had told him to do that,” according to a court document released by the district attorney’s office. He said another person had shot his mother multiple times.
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The younger sibling told investigators that he had been inside their home when his older brother killed his parents but didn’t mention the presence of another person, according to the court document.
After Hasib bin Golamrabbi killed his father, he asked his younger brother to close the curtain, Omar told investigators. Hasib then killed his mother, according to court documents.
Before heading out Saturday morning to the anime convention in Oakland, the younger sibling said he checked to “make sure that blood was not seeping out from inside the garage.”
Investigators said the siblings were later seen at Kraken Con “behaving normally.”
On Sunday afternoon, relatives tried to reach Shamima Rabbi, 57, and her husband, Golam Rabbi, 59. Golam Rabbi apparently hadn’t shown up for work. The relatives then talked to the siblings and asked them to come home, but they failed to show up.
After waiting for several hours, the relatives entered the home, where they found multiple writings and one of the victims.
Police were called and discovered the other body.
KGO-TV reported that a note had been found next to the bodies with the message, “Sorry, my first kill was clumsy.”
Court documents do not reveal what the messages that investigators found on the walls and floor had said. Investigators matched writings at the crime scene to notebooks found in the siblings’ bedrooms, according to court documents.
One of the writings had specific characteristics “consistent with Omar’s writing,” an investigator said in court documents.
The younger brother was found about two miles away from their family home that Sunday. Police tried to contact the older brother, but he had turned off his cellphone, according to court documents. He was eventually found and arrested in Tracy, Calif., on Wednesday.
In a jailhouse interview, the older brother told the San Francisco Chronicle that his teenage sibling was not involved in the killings and that more information would be revealed during the trial.
“I want everyone to know what happened,” he told the newspaper, “but I can’t say anything without a lawyer.”
The Rabbis were longtime members and volunteers with the South Bay Islamic Assn. and the Evergreen Islamic Center in San Jose.
“Past few days have been very sad and heart-breaking for the Evergreen community,” the center said in a statement. “Tragic loss of Br. Golam Rabbi and Sr. Shamima Rabbi have been devastating to the family and the community at large.”
Prayer and burial services for the couple were expected to be held Friday.
“We ask Allah to forgive the deceased, shower his mercy on them, and make their graves a garden from paradise,” the center said in an earlier statement. “We extend our deepest condolences to the family and ask Allah to grant them strength and patience during this most difficult time.”
For breaking news in California, follow VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter.
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