Yusuf Ibrahim, 31, of Jersey City, was found guilty today by a Hudson County jury of two counts each of murder, (1st degree) and desecrating human remains (2nd degree), as well as other crimes related to the murders and mutilation of the bodies.  The verdict followed a four-week trial before Superior Court Judge Mitzy Galis-Menendez in Jersey City.  Ibrahim was indicted in an investigation by the New Jersey State Police, the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office and the Division of Criminal Justice.  Ibrahim was found not guilty of counts charging him with felony murder, kidnapping and robbery.  On two robbery counts, he was found guilty of the lesser included offense of theft from a person.

Ibrahim murdered Hany Tawadros, 25, and Amgad Konds, 27, in the early morning hours of Feb. 5, 2013.  Tawadros and Konds were Egyptian nationals who were living in Jersey City.  The state presented testimony and evidence at trial that Ibrahim shot each man once in the chest with a .38-caliber handgun inside Konds’ white Mercedes C280.  Ibrahim then drove the bodies of the deceased victims to Buena Vista in the Mercedes.  There he disposed of their remains in a wooded area behind the unoccupied home of a relative, after stealing the victims’ money and jewelry.

Before burying the victims, in order to hinder their identification, he cut off their heads and hands using a small drywall saw and scissors, and knocked out their teeth with a tire iron.  After staying overnight at the relative’s house on Harding Highway in Buena Vista, Ibrahim drove the Mercedes to Philadelphia, where he abandoned it at a secluded location after setting it on fire to destroy evidence of the murders.

Deputy Attorneys General Vincent J. Militello and Frank Morano tried Ibrahim for the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau, with assistance from Analyst Nathalie Kurzawa. State Police Detective Frederick Kuhrt served as trial detective, and Detective Sgt. Glenn Garrels, Detective Sgt. John Hannigan and Detective Sgt. David Gosweiler led the investigation for the New Jersey State Police Major Crime Unit and Troop “A” Criminal Investigation Office.  Acting Attorney General Porrino thanked the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, U.S. Marshals Service, Philadelphia Police and Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office for their valuable assistance in the investigation.

The first-degree murder charges carry consecutive sentences of 30 years without parole to life in state prison.  Ibrahim is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 22.

“The ruthless and grisly manner in which Ibrahim executed his victims and mutilated their bodies revealed an extraordinarily dangerous man,” said Acting Attorney General Porrino.  “With this verdict, we have ensured that he will never again be free to commit such heinous crimes.”

“With this verdict, we have delivered a measure of justice for Ibrahim’s young victims, who were so savagely murdered and desecrated,” said Director Elie Honig of the Division of Criminal Justice.  “I want to thank the investigators, led by the State Police, who gathered the evidence to support the jury’s verdict, and our trial team, who fulfilled our mission to keep this cold-blooded killer behind bars.”

“These vicious murders and the barbaric desecration of the victims' bodies are the horrific acts of a merciless, cold-blooded killer,” said Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. “I would like to commend the State Police detectives and canine handlers who were given the dark task of investigating these horrid and disturbing killings.”

On Feb. 7, 2013, detectives from the State Police Troop “A” Criminal Investigation Office responded to the house on Harding Highway in Buena Vista after receiving a report regarding Ibrahim’s suspicious activities there.  They obtained permission to search the wooded area behind the house, where a cadaver dog located an area of disturbed dirt near the end of a trail extending from the back yard of the house into the woods.   

Armed with a search warrant, State Police detectives from the Criminal Investigation Office, Major Crime Unit and Crime Scene Investigation Unit excavated the spot on Feb. 8 and found the two bodies.  The cadaver dog was used again to find the victims’ heads and hands, which were buried about 40 yards from the original grave site.  Close to the second site, the dog detected the odor of human remains, and detectives recovered a small drywall saw, a pair of scissors and a tire iron.

Further investigation by the New Jersey State Police and the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office led detectives to learn that the Philadelphia Police had recovered Konds’ abandoned Mercedes, which contained evidence of the murders.  Ibrahim was located and arrested on Feb. 10, 2013, at a residence in Bayonne, N.J., by the New Jersey State Police and the U.S. Marshals Service.  Ibrahim initially was held in the Hudson County Jail with bail set at over $3.5 million.

Ibrahim already was serving a state prison sentence prior to this trial.  He previously pleaded guilty to charges filed by the Attorney General’s Office in connection with an armed robbery in Jersey City on the night of Sept. 19, 2012.  He admitted that he shot a man in the foot with a handgun and pistol-whipped the victim while robbing him of his money and cell phone.  Ibrahim also pleaded guilty to a robbery charge filed by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office related to a carjacking in Jersey City on Dec. 22, 2011.  He was sentenced by Judge Galis-Menendez on Jan. 8, 2015 to 18 years in state prison, including more than 15 years of parole ineligibility, in connection with both of those cases.

Deputy Attorneys General Vincent J. Militello, Philip J. Mogavero and Jamie Picard presented the murder and robbery indictments to the state grand jury for the Division of Criminal Justice Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau.

####