Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Shamsiddin Abdur-Raheem was found guilty of the 2010 crime in September.
A Galloway man found guilty of murdering his three-month old baby by throwing her into the Raritan River in 2010 was sentenced to life in prison, Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa announced on Wednesday, Nov. 7. Shamsiddin Abdur-Raheem, 24, was also sentenced to 30 years in prison, to be served consecutively, for kidnapping, Chiesa said. As a result, Abdur-Raheem must serve 89 years without the possibility of parole. He was found guilty of throwing his baby, Zara, off a Garden State Parkway bridge into the river on Sept. 7, following a two-week trial in New Brunswick. Abdur-Raheem was found guilty of murder, kidnapping and endangering the welfare of a child. He was also found guilty of two counts of simple assault, after attacking the …
Friday, September 7, 2012
Shamsiddin Abdur-Raheem has been found guilty following nearly a week of jury deliberations.
GALLOWAY, NJ — A New Jersey man accused of murder by throwing his three-month old daughter off a bridge on the Garden State Parkway has been found guilty of murder, Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa announced Friday afternoon. Shamsiddin Abdur-Raheem, 24, of Galloway, had been accused of murder by throwing his daughter, Zara Malani-Lin Abdur Raheem, out of the passenger side of his Dodge Caravan off the Alfred E. Driscoll Bridge on the Garden State Parkway in Woodbridge Township 140 feet in the Raritan River on Feb. 16, 2010. The van was parked on the shoulder of the Parkway when he threw her out the window, Chiesa said. He was found guilty by a Middlesex County jury following a two-week trial and four days of deliberation. Vanetta …
Thursday, September 6, 2012
The trial judge charged the jury for a third time Thursday afternoon.
After asking the judge to once again charge them on Thursday afternoon, Sept. 6, the jury failed to reach a verdict in the case of a Galloway man accused of throwing his three-month-old daughter off a bridge on the Garden State Parkway following a third day of deliberations, nj.com is reporting. Shamsiddin Abdur-Raheem is accused of murdering his daughter, Zara Malani Abdur-Raheem, by throwing her off the Alfred E. Driscoll Bridge on the Garden State Parkway 140 feet in the Raritan River. He has admitted to throwing his daughter into the river, but the jury is charged with determining if Abdur-Raheem committed murder, or if the child was already deceased when he threw her into the river. Abdur-Raheem allegedly broke into the home of the …
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Jury deliberations resume on Thursday.
After two days and almost six hours of deliberations, a jury has yet to issue a verdict in the trial of a Galloway man accused of throwing his baby off the Alfred E. Driscoll Bridget on the Garden State Parkway into the Raritan River, according to a report on nj.com. The jury deliberated for three hours on Wednesday, Sept. 5 but couldn't reach a decision in the case of Shamsiddin Abdur-Raheem, nj.com reports. Abdur-Raheem admitted he threw his then three-month old daughter off the bridge on Feb. 16, 2010, and her remains were found two months later. The jury is charged with determining if Abdur-Raheem should be charged with murder. According to nj.com, jurors have requested readbacks of testimony from Abdur-Raheem and another witness, …
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Jury began deliberations on Tuesday
A jury began deliberating Tuesday the fate of a Galloway man charged with throwing his 3-month-old daughter off a bridge into the Raritan River, The Star-Ledger reported. The jurors were sent home Friday afternoon about 3:40 p.m. after Superior Court Judge Bradley Ferencz finished giving them an explanation of the charges and the law in the case of Shamsiddin Abdur-Raheem, 24, according to The Star-Ledger. The defense attorneys for Abdur-Raheem, who allegedly threw his infant daughter, Zara, from the Driscoll Bridge on the Garden State Parkway, were scheduled to give their summations at 10 a.m. on Friday, according to a release from New Jersey Office of the Attorney General. On Thursday, Abdur-Raheem testified and admitted he threw the …
Friday, August 31, 2012
Accused Galloway man testifies in trial in which he's accused of throwing infant into river
Shamsiddin Abdur-Raheem of Galloway admitted Thursday that he took his infant daughter after struggling with the baby’s grandmother in her East Orange apartment, and then tossed the baby into the Raritan River, according tp The Star-Ledger. Testifying before a courtroom in New Brunswick, the 24-year-old, on trial for his daughter’s murder, said he thought Zara was already dead, according to the newspaper. He said that, as he drove south on the parkway, he looked back at Zara and she didn’t appear to be breathing. "She wasn’t moving," he said, according to The Star Ledger. "She appeared dead." He said he became upset but continued driving until he got onto the bridge, where he stopped on the right shoulder, according to the newspaper. …
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Baby's mother testifies in trial of Galloway man accused of throwing infant into Raritan River
"You killed my baby!" Venetta Benjamin screamed into the phone, just after Shamsiddin Abdur-Raheem of Galloway was accused of throwing their infant daughter into the Raritan River, according to The Star-Ledger. A tape of the 15-minute call was played for the jury Wednesday in the murder trial of Abdur-Raheem, the baby’s father, who is charged with killing Zara on Feb. 16, 2010, according to The Star-Ledger "You don’t know what my mindset was," Abdur-Raheem, 24, responded, accordng to the newspaper. Abdur-Raheem was calling from the Middlesex County jail, and lamenting about the possibility of spending the rest of his life behind bars, just as Benjamin drove south along the Garden State Parkway in August 2010. She was not far from the spot …
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Testimony of baby's mother in trial of Shamsiddin Abdur-Raheem scheduled for Wednesday
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Wednesday, August 29, 2012
The grandmother of an infant thrown into the Raritan River testified Tuesday at the murder trial of Shamsiddin Abdur-Raheem, the baby’s father, who is charged with killing Zara on Feb. 16, 2010, according to The Star-Ledger. Leno Benjamin, the grandmother, remained steady and composed as she described the frantic moments when her infant granddaughter was snatched away, and her ultimately futile attempt to save the child, according to The Star-Ledger. It was only when a pair of green pajamas was pulled from an evidence bag and handed to Benjamin that tears began to stream down the woman’s face, according to The Star-Ledger. "That’s what the baby was wearing," Benjamin said, referring to her granddaughter, Zara Malani-Lin Abdur-Raheem. …
bob
2:32 pm on Sunday, January 6, 2013
Keep him in prison. Death is too e.z. too good for him. Let him do Hard Time in prison. About the death penalty; I always ask... "Would you rather be dead or be doing life in prison, rotting away?" and the death penalty isn't always cheaper... the court process can take years and money more ›