Police: No Sign of Assault in Saudi Sisters’ NYC Deaths

NEW YORK — Police say two Saudi Arabian sisters whose bodies washed up on New York City’s waterfront told people they would rather harm themselves than return to their home country.

The bodies of 16-year-old Tala Farea and 23-year-old Rotana Farea were discovered in the Hudson River Oct. 24.

They were bound together with tape, but Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said Friday investigators found no evidence they were attacked.

Investigators say the sisters traveled from Virginia and stayed at expensive hotels in the days before they died.

A witness told police he saw the sisters praying near the river before their bodies were found.

Shea said the sisters told people in Virginia they would “rather inflict harm on themselves” than return to Saudi Arabia.

He wouldn’t say whether the sisters killed themselves.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. (Photo: AP)

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