Bio 

Zein al-Abdeen Hassan Isa was born on June 3, 1931, in the West Bank village of Beitin. He was Palestinian and later became a naturalized citizen of the United States. Before settling in St. Louis, Missouri, he lived in several places, including Brazil, where he met Maria Matias, who later became his wife.

Zein and Maria Isa had several children, including their youngest daughter, Palestina Zein Isa, commonly known as Tina. Tina was born in Brazil on December 3, 1972, and later lived with her family in St. Louis. She attended Roosevelt High School, played soccer, and wanted more independence than her parents allowed.

The family conflict grew as Tina began adopting a more American teenage lifestyle. Her parents objected to her dating, her social life, her school activities, and her decision to take a part-time job at Wendy’s rather than work only in the family business. Prosecutors later argued that Zein believed Tina had dishonored the family.

At the same time, Zein Isa was under FBI surveillance because of suspected links to the Abu Nidal Organization. Listening devices had been placed in the family apartment as part of that investigation. Those devices later recorded the murder of Tina Isa.

Murder Story

On November 6, 1989, 16-year-old Palestina “Tina” Isa was killed inside the family apartment in St. Louis, Missouri. The killing followed months of conflict between Tina and her parents over her independence, dating, school life, and outside employment.

That night, Tina returned home after working at Wendy’s. The FBI recording captured Zein and Maria confronting her. Zein told Tina that it was her last day and that she was going to die. During the attack, Tina screamed and pleaded for help from her mother. Maria did not help her and was later found to have actively participated by restraining Tina.

Zein stabbed Tina repeatedly with a knife. The wounds struck vital organs, including her heart, lung, and liver. The recording captured Zein shouting for her to die quickly. The tape became one of the most important pieces of evidence at trial because it contradicted Zein’s claim that he acted in self-defense.

Zein and Maria Isa were charged with first-degree murder. On October 25, 1991, both were convicted. On December 20, 1991, both were sentenced to death. The case drew national attention because the murder had been recorded during FBI surveillance and because prosecutors described the killing as an honor killing.

Maria Isa’s conviction was upheld, but the Missouri Supreme Court reversed her death sentence because of penalty-phase instruction errors. She was later resentenced to life imprisonment without parole and died in prison in 2014.

Zein Isa remained under a death sentence but was never executed. He died in prison on February 17, 1997, from complications related to diabetes.