LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The 29-year-old woman accused of stabbing and killing her mother with shards of glass from a broken coffee table will not face the death penalty, prosecutors said in court Monday.
Hend Bustami is charged with murdering Afaf Hussanen, 61, in October in a south valley neighborhood in the 10000 block of June Flower Drive near Jones Boulevard and Cactus Avenue. Bustami and Hussanen lived in the home together, police said.
As 8 News Now first reported, police said in August they arrested Bustami for reportedly skipping out on a restaurant tab and violating airport rules at Harry Reid International Airport. Bustami told officers at the time that she was under arrest because she was so good-looking, an arrest report said.
While officers were arresting her, Bustami said “that she was going to spit on all (the officers) and that officers were perverts and were trying to rape her because they (had) never seen anyone as good looking,” the report said.
A grand jury indicted Bustami on the murder charge last week, records showed.
During Bustami’s initial arraignment Monday in Clark County District Court, prosecutors noted the case would not go before a death review committee.
During the grand jury hearing, prosecutors played the panel the 90-second 911 call police said Bustami made around 2:30 a.m. Oct 26.
“I think I killed my mommy,” the woman, prosecutors said is Bustami, told a dispatcher.
“Why do you think you killed your mom?” the dispatcher asked.
“’Cause I did. I murdered her,” Bustami said.
“How did you do that?” the dispatcher said.
“I broke the table,” Bustami said.
Photos shown to the grand jury include an image of the table accompanied by shards of glass.
California Highway Patrol troopers later located Bustami driving near Barstow, police said. While speaking to officers, Bustami, who police said was covered in blood, allegedly said she had killed her mother.
While speaking with investigators, Bustami said she and her mother had gotten into a fight before stabbing her with shards of glass. The grand jury transcripts indicate Bustami allegedly told a detective the fight was over cigarettes.
Bustami pleaded not guilty. A judge did not set a trial date on Monday.
While Nevada has the death penalty, a person has not been put to death since 2006.