Photo: AP/REX/Shutterstock
In apress conferenceFriday, the New York Police Department revealed that Tala, 16, and 22-year-old Rotana’s family had not seen or heard from them since November 30, 2017.
After being reported missing from Fairfax, VA where the family lived, the girls were located but not returned to their home, Chief of Detectives Dermont F. Shea said.
Instead, Tala and Rotana were placed in a “shelter like facility due to abuse allegations that came up,” Detective Shea continued.
The sisters alleged that their mother, father and brother abused them, but no abuse has been corroborated, according to the NYPD.
The NYPD also revealed that the girls expressed that they would rather “inflict harm” on themselves than return home to Saudi Arabia.
Police believe the girls took a series of methods of transportation, which helped them get to New York on Sept. 1. Detective Shea said their travels to New York have since been corroborated after obtaining Uber records and purchases linked to a credit card in Rotana’s name.
From Sept. 1 to the day they were found along the Hudson River, Tala and Rotana stayed in number of Hotels in New York City.
They were also captured on security footage “in apparently good health” in the area just one week before their bodies were found.
The girls also ordered meals and clothes on the credit card, but police believe the “money started to run out,” which leads them to the day they were found lying on rocks bound together with duct tape.
Just a few days after their death made headlines across the nation, an eyewitness contacted the NYPD, who they have now identified as a credible source,” saying he saw the women on Oct 24 sitting 30 feet apart praying at a playground.
The playground was in close proximity to the Hudson River.
NYPD
At this time, police say “we have no credible information that any crime took place in New York City,” but the investigation is still ongoing.
They believe the girls entered the water “alive” and the duct tape found on their bodies was not bind their limbs but to keep them together.
The sisters’ cause of death remains unknown at this time.
On Thursday, New York Policereleased photosof Tala and Rotana.
In the images, Tala can be seen wearing a black top and has black straight hair while Rotana is pictured in a hijab. The photos come just a few days after NYPD releaseda sketch of the womenin hopes of identifying them.
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The Royal Consulate General of Saudi Arabiahas identified the sistersas Saudi citizens.
According toThe New York Times, the Saudi Embassy in Washington informed Tala and Rotana’s mother that the sisters had previously applied for asylum in the United States afterreportedly being ordered home. An asylum is a politicalprotection from another countryif a person cannot return to their own country,USA Todayreports.
At around 3 p.m., on Oct. 24 NYPD responded to a 911 call from eyewitness Martin Castillo, 40,who saw the womenin the vicinity of Riverside Park in New York’s Upper West Side while riding his electronic bike,New York Daily Newsreported.
“The bodies were on stones. One of them was facing up. She was a woman. I couldn’t believe it. I can’t see how this happened,” Castillo told the outlet.
After arriving on the scene, police discovered the women lying face to face with duct tape around their waists, a police source tells PEOPLE. Their feet were also duct taped but not to each other.
The women were pronounced dead at the scene and their bodies were transported to the New York City medical examiner’s office to determine their exact cause of death.
The women showed no signs of trauma and, according to ABC 7,they were both fully clothed.
New York Daily Newsreported that the women were both dressed in black leggings with one wearing a bomber jacket and the other a grey hooded jacket.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “help” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go tosuicidepreventionlifeline.org.
source: people.com
