Man to be charged with murder in woman's dragging death
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- A man accused of killing a Florida woman by dragging her for miles under a minivan will be charged with murder when he arrives back in the state from New York, an official said Wednesday.
Abdelaziz Hamze, 24, appeared in New York court Tuesday and blurted out, "I didn't do it, I want to go back to Florida," said Kevin Ryan, a spokesman for the Queens district attorney.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained Hamze at New York's Kennedy International Airport on Monday, authorities said. The U.S. citizen had fled Florida and was aboard a plane bound for Athens, Greece, officials said.
He is in the process of being extradited to Florida, where he will be charged with first-degree murder for Sandra Hall's death, Broward County sheriff's spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright said.
Hall, 44, of Fort Lauderdale, was in a Cadillac struck by a minivan that authorities believe Hamze was driving Sunday night, officials said. The minivan fled the crash, but the Cadillac pursued. Hall stood in front of the minivan when both vehicles stopped in traffic, authorities said.
The minivan struck Hall, who became lodged underneath the moving vehicle, officials said. She was dragged for several miles before she fell from the undercarriage, authorities said, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
"Obviously, he made some bad decisions," said Hamze's cousin, Nezar Hamze. "He may have been a little threatened."
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
