TAMARA BARBAR - 6 yo -(2009) Perris/Riverside County CA

A mother and her 6-year-old daughter were found slain in their
Perris home, but a 10-year-old girl was left unharmed, according to the
Riverside County Sheriff's Department.The discovery was made
Saturday. The department said the victims were Maysam Barbar, 43, and
Tamara Barbar, 6. The name of the surviving child was not released.Details about the slaying -- including a possible motive -- were not immediately available. But the department said it is looking for the girl's father, Michael
Barbar. He might be driving a gold 2004 Nissan Maxima or a dark gray
2008 Nissan Maxima and could be headed to Las Vegas, the department
said.[Updated at 12:32 pm.: Michael Barbar, 52,
was arrested today in Deming, N.M., by Deming Police officers,
according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department. During their
initial investigation, detectives from the Riverside Sheriff’s central
homicide unit received information that Barbar had driven to Nevada and
was headed east. Barbar was located with assistance from the Inland
Regional Apprehension Team, a task force of local and federal law
enforcement officials. Detectives planned to travel to Deming today to
speak with Barbar.]

Perris man accused of strangling wife, 6-yr-old stepdaughter to stand trial


Michael Barbar, also known as Atem Mourad, allegedly strangled his 43- year-old wife Maysam and 6-year-old stepdaughter Tamara in a premeditated attack last November.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010
A 53-year-old Perris man accused of murdering his wife and 6-year-old stepdaughter last year has been ordered to stand trial, the Riverside County District Attorney’s office announced.

Michael Barbar, also known as Atem Mourad, allegedly strangled his 43- year-old wife Maysam and 6-year-old stepdaughter Tamara in a premeditated attack last November. Barbar is charged with two counts of murder with special circumstances of lying in wait and committing multiple murders.

Riverside Superior Court Judge Helios Hernandez on Monday ruled there was sufficient evidence to hold Barbar over for trial, said John Hall, spokesman for the DA’s office.

Hall said in a news release that the lying in wait allegation stems from Barbar waiting until his wife and the little girl went to bed before murdering them.

Barbar also gave his two teenage step-children who lived at the home money to stay out late the night of the murders, according to the DA’s report.

Maysam Barbar had been married to the defendant for at least 10 years and had one child — a daughter — with him, Deputy District Attorney Ambrosio Rodriguez said an earlier report. That child was at home, hiding, when Barbar allegedly tied up and killed his spouse and stepchild, whose bodies were found a few feet apart, Rodriguez said.

An autopsy showed that both victims had been strangled, and the child had “blunt force trauma to the head,” sheriff’s Detective Dean Spivacke said an earlier report.

“We have reason to believe that he recently discovered the 6-year-old was not his biological daughter,” Spivacke said of a possible motive for the deaths.

The remains were found Nov. 14 in the Barbars’ two-story residence in the 2800 block of Banner Place.

Deputies were called by Barbar’s eldest stepdaughter, Theadora Khoury, who said the defendant had told her he killed his wife and Tamara and would soon commit suicide, according to court papers.

Rodriguez suggested the defendant suspected his wife of being unfaithful and could not handle the idea of her committing adultery.

According to the prosecutor, the Lebanese-born Barbar was captured Nov. 15 in Deming, N.M., roughly 40 miles north of the Mexican border. Sheriff’s investigators located the fugitive by tracking signals from his mobile phone.

District Attorney Rod Pacheco is seeking the death penalty against Barbar for the November 2009 murders.



Read more: http://www.swrnn.com/southwest-riverside/2010-10-19/news/perris-man-accused-of-strangling-wife-6-yr-old-stepdaughter-to-stand-trial#ixzz1IoKh053m

Friday, July 29th, 2011
Issue 30, Volume 15.
RIVERSIDE - A Feb. 6 trial date was confirmed today for a man accused of beating and strangling his wife and 6-year-old stepdaughter in their Perris home.

Michael Barbar, also known as Atem Mourad, could face the death penalty if convicted of murdering his 43-year-old spouse, Maysam, and her daughter, Tamara, in an alleged premeditated attack nearly two years ago.

Barbar appeared today before Riverside County Superior Court Judge Helios Hernandez, who set a trial date after receiving tentative commitments from Deputy District Attorney John Aki and Deputy Public Defender Eric Keen that they would be ready to go at that time.

A progress hearing is set for Oct. 17.

Barbar, who remains in custody without bail at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, as well as special circumstance allegations of lying in wait and taking multiple lives.

Maysam Barbar had been married to the defendant for at least 10 years and had one child -- a daughter -- with him, according to prosecutors. The girl was at home, hiding, when Barbar allegedly tied up and strangled his wife and stepdaughter, whose bodies were found a few feet apart last Nov. 14 in the Barbars' two-story residence in the 2800 block of Banner Place.

Barbar's eldest stepdaughter, Theadora Khoury, received a call from the 54-year-old defendant the day of the killings, during which he allegedly admitted committing the murders and said he planned to kill himself, according to court papers.

Prosecutors allege Barbar may have decided to kill his wife after learning she had had an affair and that Tamara was the product of adultery.

The defendant was captured last Nov. 15 in Deming, N.M., roughly 40 miles north of the Mexican border. Sheriff's investigators located the fugitive by tracking signals from his mobile phone.

http://www.myvalleynews.com/story/57770/