PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Kathleen McCoy, the mother of Charlie Weber, says her family “is broken forever missing Charlie.”
Weber was “only 25-years-old on the day 4 assailants entered his home tortured, beat, and ultimately took his life,” McCoy said.
On March 9, 2013, Weber was found dead in a fourplex located in the 2200 block of Southwest Dolph Court.
An autopsy determined he died of blunt force trauma to the head. A .45 caliber handgun was also used in the killing that police described as “particularly violent.”
Mahmoud Moustafa was one of four people who had a role in the death of Weber. Earlier this month, he was formally sentenced in Multnomah County Circuit Court to 15 years in prison. He pleaded guilty to 1st-degree burglary and 1st-degree robbery, but entered a no contest plea to 2nd-degree manslaughter.
McCoy gave a powerful victim impact statement on the day Moustafa was sentenced.
“There are no words to express the feelings experienced when thrown into the darkness of murder,” she said as she addressed Moustafa and the court.
The loss of Weber, her third child, she said is the darkest moment of her life.
“The laughter, hugs, sense of security and opportunity to say ‘I love you’ are ever gone.”The crime
Prosecutors said Mahmoud Moustafa, Hussein Ali-Haidar, Omar Ibrahim and Clifton Carey went to Weber’s house in the early morning hours of March 9, 2013 looking to steal drugs and money that night.
Police found the body of Charles Weber down on the living room floor and described the scene inside the residence “particularly violent.”
The floors, walls and doors were covered with blood. Officers also found vomit inside.
The night before, investigators learned, Weber had a friend over at this house to play video games. That person was a friend of Hussein Ali-Haidar.
There was a knock at the door.
Weber answered the knock and was pushed back by the person at the door. Weber’s video game-playing friend told police he saw the intruder armed with a gun. Several other men entered the room and took Weber into a back bedroom.
Weber’s friend heard screaming and someone yelled, “We’re going to have to kill him.”
Weber tried to run from the intruders but he was pistol-whipped several times, police said. He was also hit with a machete several times.
In court, his mother said her son’s last words were: “I don’t want to die. I have a daughter.”
Someone encouraged the machete-wielding attacker to “go all the way through” as he swung the weapon.
As the men fled, a neighbor smoking a cigarette outside told police he heard someone say “he’s dead.”
They fled inside a dark-colored sedan.The earlier phone call
In the months following the killing, homicide detectives with the Portland Police Bureau said Haidar called his friend and told him he was coming to visit him and Weber.
Ten minutes after the phone call was that knock on the door.
As detectives pieced the case together, they learned Weber had been selling marijuana and cocaine. He sold drugs to Haidar, police learned.‘Kind and compassionate’
McCoy described her son as a good person who was “kind and compassionate.” She said he touched lives and “was very open to the world and its people.”
For his part, Moustafa apologized to McCoy personally.
It was a moment attorneys, detectives and the public rarely see of defendants accused of murder: Moustafa stood up, turned around, looked at McCoy and the galley.
He was unable to hold back tears as he spoke.
“I understand that this has been hard for you,” he said.
As he stood inside Judge Eric J. Bergstrom’s courtroom, the weight of guilt pressed down upon the 24-year-old defendant.
“I would not dare to think what you’ve been through,” he said. “Oh, God knows how hurt you are.”
His crying picked up through the courtroom’s microphones.
“I’m very sorry for your loss,” he said. “I’m very sorry for being a part of this.”The others involved
During the investigation, police arrested Ahmad Al Kalali and charged him with hindering prosecution and tampering with physical evidence. Kalali took a plea deal in March 2014 and received probation.
Haidar is charged with 4 counts of aggravated murder, 3 counts of murder, 2 counts of unlawful use of a weapon and one count each of 1st-degree burglary, 1st-degree robbery, unlawful use of a weapon and 1st-degree assault.
His trial is scheduled to start Jan. 13, 2017 and could last 4 months.
Carey took a plea deal and was convicted of aggravated murder and murder in June 2016. If he meets all of the terms of his plea deal, the aggravated murder charge will be deferred. His sentencing is set for Feb. 2017 where he will receive life in prison. He will have to serve at least 25 years before being eligible to apply for parole.
Ibrahim received a 7.5 year prison sentence after being convicted of 1st-degree robbery in connection to the case. He was sentenced in March 2015. As part of his plea deal, charges of murder and assault were dismissed.
Before being taken away, Moustafa finished his statements with two words that left the courtroom briefly silent.
“I’m sorry.”