Jamal Mansour is behind bars for murdering his daughter, Tahani Mansour, at the home they shared in Rocky River, Ohio, which the defense team considered a suspected honor killing.
At around 1:30 p.m. on Sept. 27, 2016, police officers with the Rocky River Police Department were dispatched to a home in the 22600 block of Vine Court after receiving a 911 call about a shooting.
When officers arrived on the scene, they discovered Tahani suffering a gunshot wound to the back of her head and the side of her face. She was unconscious at the time but still breathing; however, she was bloodied and twitching, according to Cleveland.
Emergency medical services transported Tahani to Fairview Hospital in Cleveland, where she succumbed to her injuries while undergoing emergency brain surgery.
Tahani was a 27-year-old clinical pharmacist at the time of her death, working at two hospitals in the Cleveland Clinic medical system.
An investigation led to Jamal’s arrest.
The then-63-year-old was booked into the Cuyahoga County Jail on charges of murder, felonious assault, and domestic violence.
His bond was set at $1.5 million. After waiving his right to a preliminary hearing in a Rocky River Municipal Court, Jamal’s bond was amended to $4.5 million.
Prosecutors asked for a higher bond because Jamal, who was born in Jordan and immigrated to the United States in 1978, had the means to bond out.
He was an entrepreneur who owned several gas stations and grocery stores in the Rocky River area.
If Jamal made bail, prosecutors feared that he would hurt other family members or flee the country.
During a court hearing, Prosecutor Michael O’Shea stated that Jamal admitted to killing his daughter, who was the youngest of his six children, but he initially claimed it was an accident.
A defense team believed that Tahani’s death was an honor killing.
According to Jamal’s account, Tahani was supposed to go on a month-long trip to Jerusalem, but it was a ruse. She was apparently still in Ohio, staying with her boyfriend.
Tahani had to keep her relationship a secret because her beau was non-Muslim, and her father may not have approved of him.
Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Andrew Rogalski said, “When she was with him, she had to pretend like she was with other people. She was worried about what would happen if he found out.”
When Tahani returned home after midnight on Sept. 27, 2016, her father purportedly began scolding her about her untidy bedroom.
She didn’t want to argue, so she brushed him off and went to her upstairs bedroom, where she fell asleep. That’s when Jamal grabbed a gun—a .38-caliber.
Jamal told authorities that “if she doesn’t respect me, then she’ll respect this [gun].”
He then went to his daughter’s bedroom and fired three shots while she was asleep. Two of the bullets struck her in the head.
Jamal had no criminal history prior to the incident.
Defense attorney Angelo Lonardo said, “All his life he’s been an ideal father. He was always working, and he worked very hard for his children.”
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Nancy Margaret Russo called Tahani Mansour’s murder “senseless.”
“Your daughter had a bright future ahead of her,” said Russo. “I bet the last thing she worried about happening to her is being killed by her own father.”
Jamal apologized to his family. He said, “I hope that they can forgive me. I miss her so much. I wish I was the one that was dead.”
In 2017, Jamal pleaded guilty to murdering his daughter, and he was sentenced to 22 years in prison.