LOUISVILLE, Ky.-
A man charged with killing his four young children and assaulting his wife was ordered held without bail Saturday after a judge entered a not guilty plea for him.
Said Biyad, 42, faces four counts of capital murder and one count of aggravated assault. If convicted of murder, Biyad could face the death penalty, although prosecutors have not said whether they will seek it.
Meanwhile, a funeral for the children was planned Saturday.
Jefferson County District Judge Jacquelyn Eckert also ordered that Biyad have no contact with his estranged wife, 29-year-old Fatuma Amir, who was taken to a hospital Friday and was listed in serious condition.
Jay Lambert, Biyad’s court-appointed attorney, said the no-contact order was unnecessary.
“Frankly, Mr. Biyad is not going anywhere any time soon,” Lambert said.
Biyad did not speak during the arraignment hearing, which was over in less than three minutes.
Eckert set an Oct. 17 bail hearing.
Biyad, a Somali refugee who had been living in Oregon until recently, entered a Louisville police station Friday morning and told detectives, “I just killed my family,” said Lt. Col. Philip Turner, an assistant chief. Police discovered the bodies of the couple’s son, Sidi, 8, and three daughters–Fatuma, 7, Khadija, 4 and Goshany, 2–in their mother’s apartment.
Gail Norris, a deputy coroner with the Jefferson County Medical Examiner’s Office, said all four children had been stabbed to death.
Police said they believe the killings stemmed from an argument the couple had over the children.
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