Injured victim to testify in ‘honor killing’ case

PHOENIX (AP) — A woman hit by the vehicle of an Iraqi immigrant also convicted of running over his daughter in Phoenix is set to testify in a case prosecutors have called an “honor killing.”

A jury will hear from Amal Khalaf to determine whether aggravating factors were involved when Faleh Hassan Almaleki mowed down his 20-year-old daughter.

Almaleki was convicted Tuesday of second-degree murder in his daughter’s death, along with counts of aggravated assault and leaving the scene of an accident.

Prosecutors say Almaleki ran over Noor Almaleki in October 2009 because she had become too Westernized. Khalaf, who is the mother of the woman’s boyfriend, was seriously injured.

The defense had sought a lesser charge of manslaughter. They called Noor Almaleki’s death and Khalaf’s injury an accident.