In 2009, Haider Abdullah was busted by one of his sister's buddies dancing at a Phoenix bar and throwing dollar bills at strippers.
After that information was relayed to his sister and her husband, Abdullah's sister gave him a talk about how dancing and strippers "were contrary to their Muslim culture."
Abdullah decided to kill both of the men who ratted him out, a Maricopa County jury decided today.
Abdullah, 41, was found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder, and he'll face life in prison for each count at his March 31 sentencing.
According to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, on April 12, 2009, Mohammed Mzeal spotted Abdullah at the bar and checking out boobies, and decided to phone up Abdullah's sister about it.
Abdullah's sister called her husband, Ayad Mizel, saying Mzeal had seen Abdullah doing "bad things," bringing him into the loop.
Abdullah's sister then called her brother and confronted him on the dancing/stripper accusations, saying "his actions were contrary to their Muslim culture."
Abdullah wasn't too accepting of that speech, responding by letting his sister know that he was going to kill Mzeal for ratting him out.
He phoned up his sister around 3 p.m. that same day, letting her know, "I just killed Mohammed and I'm going to come kill your husband."
Abdullah didn't actually get around to shooting Mzeal for another hour, but gunned him down in his car behind a Safeway store near 35th Avenue and Northern.
Not long after that, Abdullah went over to Mizel's place, yelling for him to come outside.
Abdullah's sister told Mizel not to leave the house, but he did, and Abdullah shot him to death as well.
Abdullah then fled to California, where he was captured after a grand total of two days on the run.
He attempted to explain that the shooting was in self-defense, but no weapon was found on either victim.
Mizel's father also told police he'd spoken on the phone with Abdullah shortly after he killed his son, and claimed Abdullah said he killed him to "teach him a lesson."
