LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles prosecutors have charged an Egyptian father with murder after he allegedly drove his family off a pier, killing his two autistic sons.
The district attorney’s office says Wednesday that Ali Elmezayen faces two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. There’s a special circumstance allegation that the killings were carried out for financial gain.
Elmezayen is in custody on insurance fraud charges. Prosecutors, in that case, say he purchased $6 million in insurance policies to cover his family in the event of an accidental death two years before the 2015 pier plunge.
A lawyer for Elmezayen could not be found.
Investigators say Elmezayen intentionally drove off a wharf with his wife and two children inside the car. The woman was rescued but the boys died.