‘I am allowed to have two wives’: Patriarch of devout Muslim family in bizarre court outburst before being found guilty of ‘honor killing’ murder of son-in-law and his friend who helped convert his daughter to Christianity

‘I am allowed to have two wives’: Patriarch of devout Muslim family in bizarre court outburst before being found guilty of ‘honor killing’ murder of son-in-law and his friend who helped convert his daughter to Christianity

A Jordanian man has been found guilty of two honor killings after taking to the stand to defend himself in a desperate attempt to avoid the death penalty. 

Ali Irsan, 60, a Jordanian immigrant, has been convicted of killing his daughter’s husband – Coty Beavers – and her friend Gelareh Bagherzadeh after his daughter converted to Christianity and married a Christian man. 

The jury deliberated for just 35 minutes before reaching the verdict Thursday. Jurors will begin hearing evidence Friday morning on punishment, and he could be sentenced either to death or life imprisonment without parole. 

Against the advice of his own attorneys, Irsan took the stand Wednesday declaring he had nothing to do with the deaths of Beavers and Bagherzadeh in Houston in 2012. 

Irsan was grilled by prosecutors on his relationship with his wife and his devout faith as they tried to paint him as a radical Muslim who believed his daughter’s marriage had brought shame on the family.