Elias Syriani - Death Row Inmate: In 1990, Elias Syriani stabbed his wife, Teresa Yousef Syriani, multiple times with a screw driver, in front of their 10-year-old son.
Teresa had recently filed for divorce and Elias, with brute force, stabbed her through the skull and into her brain. Now 15 years later, Elias, 67, has run out of appeals and is scheduled to be executed in North Carolina on November 18, 2005. His four adult children are making strong appeals in an effort to stop the execution.
Elias Syriani and Teresa Yousef Marry: In 1974, Elias Syriani, 36, came to the U.S. from Jordan and in a prearranged marriage, wed Teresa Yousef who was 12 years his junior. In 1986, the couple and their four children left the comfort of Calumet City, Illinois after Elias lost his job. The Syrianis were Assyrian Christians and Calumet City was a predominately Arab community made up of people with similar ethnic and religious backgrounds as the Syrianis. Their new home in Charlotte, N.C. did not offer the same comforts.
A Volatile Marriage From the Start: The Syrianis' marriage was volatile and Elias often hit Teresa. Once in Charlotte the arguing increased. Elias' previous unemployment created money problems for the family so Teresa decided to start working at a near by deli. This went against Elias' strong Arab background which believed wives should not work and stay at home. Elias was furious when he found out Teresa took the job.
Teresa Files for Divorce: During another domestic dispute, Elias attempted to hit Teresa with a baseball bat. Shortly after that incident, Teresa, with the four children in tow, went to live in a battered women's shelter then moved to New Jersey to live with relatives. She eventually returned to Charlotte but by 1990, she had a court order demanding Elias vacate their house and she filed for divorce.
The Attack: A few days later Teresa was on her way home from work with her 10-year-old son in the car. Elias blocked her way with his van and forced himself into her vehicle, and in rage began stabbing her with a screwdriver. He stabbed her multiple times and did so with such force that the screwdriver went through her skull and into her brain.
Son John Remembers the Attack: Teresa, age 40, managed to survive the attack but died 26 days later. Her son John, who was in the car during the attack, described the incident as horrible and that he tried to stop his father, but after the first five minutes of it he ran home to get his older sister.
A Child's Essay of Tormented Memories: In an essay written for school, John further described his fears and feelings about the attack.
He wrote, "My mom is the most prettyest woman in the world. I hate my stupit dad he killed her... I was in the car with her." He also said he did not sleep for six nights and was in fear for his own life.
The Syriani Children After the Attack: After the death of their mother, the Syriani children refused to refer to Elias as "Father or Dad." They went to live with Elias' two sisters who spoke little English. Sarah, the oldest child, slipped into a caretaker role and filled some of the parental gaps in her siblings' lives. The four children bonded closely together and through community support, grew to be strong adults. The also shared another strong bond - they despised their father for his
actions.
Elias Syriani - A Childhood of Violence: At age 10, Elias' family suffered persecution as Assyrian Christians in Jerusalem. His father was arrested and sent to prison and Elias tried to support the family. While in prison, his father suffered a breakdown and was released and sent to Jordan. The family joined him there, but found a changed and broken man. According to Elias, after that his mother treated his father "worse than a dog."
Forgiveness: His appeals attorney said that the childhood trauma was the underlying cause which provoked Elias to attack his wife with such brutal force. He argued that Elias' use of violence toward his family as a control mechanism, was considered acceptable in the society he was raised in, a fact that was never presented by his original trial lawyer.
As adults, Elias' children, John, Rose, Sarah and Janet, have found forgiveness for their father's actions. In an affidavit by the three women, they said that they were not aware of what their father and his family went through and although it did not excuse his actions, it did help to explain the violence that plagued their family.
The four children, bound at young ages by tragedy, are once again bound with the belief that their father's life should be spared. Since August 2004, they have been reunited with their father and have learned more about his past. They also see remorse in Elias, remorse for the pain he caused.
During a conference on helping children of domestic violence, held in Charlotte, N.C., Rose told the audience, "If this execution is carried out, we'll have two parents murdered," and Sarah added, "We've suffered enough."
The execution of Elias Syriani is scheduled for November 18, 2005.
Update: On November 18, 2005, Elias Syriani was executed by the U.S. state of North Carolina by lethal injection.
