The Carroll Standard

Twin Brother Charged in 2007 Columbia Murder

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Police in Howard County are announcing the arrest of Wael Ali, 23 for the murder of his twin brother in Columbia four years ago by the Cobb County (Ga.) Sheriff's Office. Ali was arrested in Marietta, Ga., last week without incident.

Police reports indicate that on Aug. 27, 2007, the body of Wasel Ali, 19, the twin brother of Wael Ali, was discovered on a secluded dirt path in the woods behind the 12000 block of Green Meadow Drive in Columbia. An autopsy showed he died as a result of a neck injury.

Wasel and Wael Ali were last seen together on Aug. 22 on surveillance video at the Mall in Columbia.

Early in the day on Aug. 22, police served a search warrant at the Ali's home on Warm Granite Drive in Columbia. The warrant was related to a case from Aug. 17 in Arlington, Va., in which both brothers were arrested for possession of a stolen handgun and impersonating police officers.

Later in the day on Aug. 22, the two were at the mall after Wasel Ali was fired from his job at a retail store for an ongoing theft scheme stealing clothes. According to the store's manager, Wasel Ali admitted to his role in the thefts and implicated his brother Wael Ali.

The brothers are last seen together on surveillance video inside the mall around 6:45 p.m., but then walking in opposite directions and exiting at opposite ends of the building. Wael Ali is seen entering his car and driving off. Wasel Ali is seen leaving the mall on foot. Five days later, a citizen would find Wasel Ali's body on a dirt path approximately two miles from the mall.

Detectives said Wael Ali's whereabouts are unaccounted for in the 25 minutes after the two left the mall, until he calls a friend, distraught and saying his brother has gone "missing." He drives to a friend's house and according to witnesses, is "frantic," "in a panic," and "crying" that his brother is missing. Wael Ali asked friends to help him look for his brother, but said he had already searched the area where Wasel Ali's body would later be found.

The Ali family reported Wasel Ali as a missing person to police approximately four hours after he was last seen on surveillance video.