Bay Area brothers charged with murder in death of parents

SAN JOSE - Prosecutors in California charged two sons Friday with murder in the killing of their parents, who were found shot to death over the weekend in their San Jose home.

One of the suspects is a 17-year-old high school student who was charged as an adult, said Sean Webby, public communications officer for the Santa Clara County district attorney's office. His name was not immediately available.

The older brother, 22-year-old Hasib Bin Golam Rabbi, told the San Francisco Chronicle (http://bit.ly/1SUERp2) in a jailhouse interview that he is eager to tell the real story but offered no other details. He emphasized that his brother is innocent.

"I want everyone to know what happened," Rabbi said, "but I can't say anything without a lawyer."

It was not immediately known if the brothers had retained attorneys.

Shamima and Golam Rabbi were found dead Sunday in their home on a quiet cul de sac. The double slaying and the arrest of the sons have horrified the tight-knit Muslim community.

A prayer service was planned for the parents Friday afternoon.

The victims were popular fixtures at their mosque for three decades and had helped relatives emigrate from their native Bangladesh.

"Everybody is praying that it's somebody else who did this and not the kids," said Abdul Jaka, a co-founder of the Evergreen Islamic Center. "They were a nice family."

Jason Wong, 16, a classmate of the teen suspect at Evergreen Valley High School, said the junior was quiet and mostly kept to himself.

Wong said he saw the teen on campus on Monday, the day after his parents were found dead.

"I didn't think anything was wrong then because I didn't know his parents had died," Wong said. "But now it seems strange."

It was not clear how long the couple had been dead before relatives discovered the bodies, police spokesman Sgt. Enrique Garcia said. No further details were released about the slayings.

"This is one of those tragedies nobody ever wants to be in," mosque spokesman Faisal Yazadi said. "All we can do is pray."