Jihad Hassan Moukalled
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- Gender
- male
- Country
- USA
- Location
- Farmington Hills, Michigan, USA
- Date of birth
- 1958
- Age at first offence
- 42
- Characteristics
- domestic violence, parricide, dismemberment
- Victim profile
- His pregnant wife, Fatima, 31; daughter Aya, 7; son Adam, 5; and daughter Lila, 3
- Method of murder
- Suffocation / Shooting
- Date(s) of murder
- November 21, 2000
- Years active
- 2000
- Date of arrest
- —
- Status
-
Died in custody
Committed suicide by shooting himself the same day after suffocating his three children and shooting his pregnant wife over gambling debts exceeding hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Case overview
Jihad Hassan Moukalled, 42, committed suicide by shooting himself after killing his pregnant wife and three children over gambling debts.
Moukalled left a suicide note on the kitchen counter. In the note, he wrote:
"I never ever had a bad intent toward anyone. I think that I was gripped by the hope of 'one more shot.' I did not know how else to escape what I got myself into. It is over."
Police said Moukalled suffocated the children as they slept in their beds and there were signs in the master bedroom of a struggle with his wife.
Timeline
- 4 a.m. (same day as return from Las Vegas) — Moukalled returned home from a three-day trip to Las Vegas.
The victims
Police identified the victims as:
- Fatima Moukalled, 31 (his wife)
- Aya Moukalled, 7 (daughter)
- Adam Moukalled, 5 (son)
- Lila Moukalled, who would have turned 3 within five days
Investigation and police statements
A maid found the bodies in their beds in the family’s neat brick home in the Detroit suburb shortly after noon.
Police said the children appeared to have been suffocated. Police said there were signs in the master bedroom of a struggle with Moukalled’s wife.
Police said they found a gun in Moukalled’s hands.
Police said a suicide note was left open and held down with salt and pepper shakers on the kitchen counter.
Police Chief William Dwyer said Moukalled’s suicide note “clearly indicated he was sorry he had to take the lives of his wife and children,” and said the debt situation began to overwhelm Moukalled.
Gambling debts and alleged attempts to obtain casino funds
Police said Moukalled’s Oak Park printing business had amassed $500,000 in debts and that Moukalled withdrew money to cover his gambling.
Police said three credit cards found inside the house carried $60,000 in debt.
Police said:
- “Over the past two years, he's been making weekly trips to Las Vegas and Atlantic City, gambling large sums of money,” Dwyer said.
- “According to a statement by one of the relatives, he was gambling all over the place.”
- During the three-day trip, Moukalled asked his business to deposit $85,000 into a bank account with hopes the money could be transferred to a Las Vegas casino, and the bank wouldn’t honor the check.
Police Chief William Dwyer said Moukalled put his gambling debts at close to $100,000, “but I’m sure it’s much higher.”
Family circumstances and neighbor account
Brenda Williams, a next-door neighbor, said Moukalled had told her husband in recent weeks that his business had been struggling.
Other details
The family was last seen Monday night by the maid when she left the house.
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