BSO announce arrest in dragging death of local woman

By Macollvie Jean-François, Brian Haas & Andrew Tran
Sun-Sentinel.com
Posted June 4 2007, 7:18 PM EDT

UPDATE: Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne announced Monday afternoon the arrest of a man at New York's John F. Kennedy airport in the dragging death of Sandra Hall, 44, of Fort Lauderdale.

Sheriff Jenne identified the suspect as Abdelaziz Hamze, 24, of Coral Springs, during a press conference. He said BSO investigators were on their way to New York to interview him.

Here is what BSO investigators said about Hamze's arrest:

The suspect was pulled from an Athens-bound flight at JFK airport, at approximately 4:20 p.m., Monday afternoon, by agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It is believed Hamze, who is a U.S. citizen, purchased his ticket to Greece following the murder. Athens is a common connecting point for flights to Lebanon, where Hamze is originally from.

BSO detectives identified Hamze after a man called the agency, and told investigators he had been contacted by Hamze. The caller said that several months ago he sold Hamze the 1999 Dodge minivan involved in the incident, and that Hamze had contacted him after the murder. Detectives are not releasing the content of the call between the two men at this time. In addition, a witness identified Hamze from a photo line-up.

Hamze is expected to be charged with first degree murder.