“Son's Alibi Verified For Night Of Family's Murder, Say Police.”
Nancy Montgomery, Seattle Times 16/07/94

Bellevue police say they've tentatively cleared of suspicion the 18-year-old son of a Bellevue family bludgeoned to death in their home Tuesday.

Police had all along said that Atif Rafay was a "person of interest" but not a suspect in the killings of his parents, Tariq and Sultana, and his sister, Basma. Yesterday police said they had confirmed the teenager's alibi.

Atif Rafay and a 19-year-old friend, who was staying with the family, told police they had been to dinner, the movie "The Lion King," and a club in Seattle before returning to the Rafay family's Somerset home and finding the bodies about 2 a.m.

"It all checks out," said Bellevue police spokesman Lt. Jack McDonald. "People saw them at those locations."

McDonald said that when police arrived at the murder scene, the teenagers were wearing the same clothes they'd been seen in earlier. The clothes were free of blood, he said.

"We even asked them how the movie ended," McDonald said, to ensure that they hadn't slipped out in the middle of it.

Rafay yesterday had left a Bellevue-area hotel at which he and the friend had been staying. He did not attend afternoon funeral services for his parents and sister, and family members who had traveled from Canada for the funeral were concerned that the teenager had refused to see them.

McDonald said police know the location of Rafay and his friend, whom they refused to identify. Police are in contact with the two, he said, adding he did not know why Rafay was refusing to see relatives.

Relatives who washed the bodies of the slain family, as part of a Muslim burial ritual, said they were convinced that the killings were hate crimes.

"One brother was very angry. The face of Tariq - he couldn't even tell it was his brother," said Aziz Junejo, a Seattleite active in the Muslim community. "The community is convinced (police) are covering up that this is racially motivated. Tariq Rafay was the nicest guy, and the family was the sweetest people in the world," Junejo said.

Bellevue police have said they believe the Rafays were not random victims but, because of the extreme violence and anger apparent in the beating of Tariq Rafay, were targeted.

They say there was no graffiti or other evidence at the scene that would point to a racial or religious motive. As for some sort of personal vendetta, McDonald said so far police have been unable to find anyone who did not admire the Rafays.

Police had also discounted robbery as a motive.

Two detectives were going to Vancouver, B.C. - where the family had lived from the mid-1970s until last year - to search for clues. Other detectives are looking at bank and business records. Still others are dealing with the large amount of physical evidence collected at the scene, McDonald said.

The investigation, he said, has a way to go: "We don't have any suspects. We don't have a motive. We don't have a weapon."