WASHINGTON – Sebastian Burns and Atif Rafay, who were jailed for life 17 years ago for the killing of Rafay’s parents and sister, will appear in court again in Washington tomorrow.
The pair will be asking the Washington State Court of Appeals to order another trial.
They are both 35-years-old now, but were only 18 when they reportedly travelled from B.C. to the Rafay’s Bellevue Washington home and bludgeoned to death Rafay’s parents, Tariq and Sultana, and his sister Basma, who was 20 and autistic.
They were arrested in Canada in 1995 and extradited to the United States to stand trial. They were convicted in 2004 and found guilty of three counts of aggravated first-degree murder, and were sentenced to three consecutive life terms with no chance of parole according to The Province.
Both men have said that they are innocent of the killings, and it is expected that their lawyers will argue that there was no DNA evidence linking the two to Rafay’s family’s deaths, and there is a question about their alibis, which they say wouldn’t allow them the time to commit the murders.
Many groups support the men being let free.
We will have more information and coverage on our broadcasts on Friday.
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