Aliya Fakhri, who was arrested for the murder of her ex-boyfriend and his friend, was a “good person”, her friends said and expressed disbelief over the brutal crime. According to him, the alleged murder committed by Alia was a crime of “jealousy”.
Said Jean-Baptiste and Jewels Boatwright (name changed) told NDTV that Aaliyah, whom they call ‘Athena’ (after her stage name), worked as a stripper.
“She was a good person…passionate. But she lost it that night. It seems to be a crime of jealousy,” he said, adding that he still “loves her”.
Aliya Fakhri was arrested on Tuesday for setting fire to a two-story garage in Queens, New York, while her ex-boyfriend Edward Jacobs, 35, and her friend Anastasia Etienne, 33, were sleeping.
According to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz, Aliya Fakhri arrived at the garage early in the morning on November 2 and yelled at Jacobs, who lived upstairs, “You’re all going to die today”. Hearing his voice, a witness came out and saw that the building had been set on fire. Étienne, who had been alerted by the fire, went back up to rescue Jacobs. But none of them were able to escape the burning building as they died of smoke inhalation and thermal injuries, officials said.
According to Alia’s friends, her ex-boyfriend lived in Jacobs Garage and worked as a plumber.
Jacobs and Aaliyah were part of the same friend group, he told NDTV, adding that the two were seeing each other “occasionally” but that it was a “turbulent” relationship.
The victims, Jacobs and Etienne, lived in the same rented house in Queens with Jewels and several others. Everyone else had managed to escape at the time of the incident.
He said, currently the New York Police are not allowing Jewels to stay in the house because it is a crime scene.
Alia’s friends told NDTV that she spoke “affectionately” about her elder sister and Rockstar-fame actor Nargis Fakhri.
However, sources have claimed that Nargis has not been in touch with Alia for more than 20 years.
NDTV also contacted Nargis and Alia’s mother Mary Fakhri in Queens, but her apartment was locked. According to her neighbor, he had seen Mary two days ago. They also called him but he refused to talk.
“I last saw her two days ago…she’s a very friendly, beautiful woman,” the neighbor said.
Mary reportedly denied the allegations against her daughter, saying, “I don’t think she would be murdering anyone. She was a person who was caring for everyone. She tried to help everyone.” tried.”
Aliya, who has been charged with four counts of murder in the first degree, four counts of murder in the second degree and arson by a grand jury, is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 9. The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison, the Queens District Attorney said.
(With inputs from Natasha Israni)
