Identical twin accused of killing his brother is fatally shot
After years of legal limbo in which Wael Ali was considered a suspect in the slaying of his identical twin brother but never convicted, Howard County police may close their investigation. On Tuesday, the body of the 25-year-old was buried in a Baltimore cemetery next to the grave of his twin, Wasel Ali, who was slain at age 19.
Wael Ali died Friday in Atlanta, the Washington Post (reg. req.) reports. Police say he was accidentally shot in the neck; a friend of his has been charged with involuntary manslaughter.
A jury deadlocked in Wael Ali’s first-degree murder trial in 2012. Prosecutors declined to retry him, but officials did not close their case against him. One problem in the case was a lack of DNA evidence—because they were identical twins, the two shared the same DNA.
Wael Ali said he was innocent, and his family stood by him.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Unusual Identical Twin Fratricide Case Lacks Evidence; Survivor Says He Is Innocent, Misses Brother”
Updated at 6:39 p.m. to correct an erroneous description of Wasel Ali’s fatal injury.
