An El Cajon man who fatally shot his wife — a mother of nine children — in their El Cajon home last year was sentenced Thursday to 21 years in prison, according to prosecutors.
Abdulhannan Alrawi, 46, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter with a special firearm allegation earlier this year in the slaying of his wife Fathem Alrawi, 37.
The couple’s children, ranging in ages 2 to 17 years old, were all in the home sleeping at the time of the shooting on Aug. 22, 2022, police said.
“This domestic violence murder left nine children orphaned,” District Attorney Summer Stephan said in a news release. “Nothing will relieve the pain of this kind of trauma, but the guilty plea and prison sentence is a measure of justice for the grieving family.”
Daniel Cohen, Alrawi’s defense attorney, said his client took the plea deal to take responsibility for the killing.
“We would have liked less years (on the sentencing), but I think Mr. Alrawi knows that his actions that day were terrible,” Cohen said. “Nothing can give him his wife back, and his family is now left virtually as orphans.”
On the morning of the shooting, police received a report around 5:30 a.m. from the couple’s daughter who said her mom had been shot on Soma Place, a cul de sac off Greenfield Drive.
Police entered the home and found the woman in her bedroom, investigators said. She had been shot in the face and died before she could be taken to a hospital.
Investigators later learned that her husband had pressed a 9mm Glock handgun against his wife’s cheek while she was lying still, prosecutors said. The children did not hear any argument before the shooting.
On the morning of the shooting, Cohen said his client was “kidding around” with his wife of 20 years and tried waking her up by pointing a presumably empty handgun at her.
Abdulhannan Alrawi believed he had emptied his gun when he took the magazine out of it, according to Cohen. But there was still a bullet in the chamber.
“He pulled the trigger, but never intended for the gun to discharge,” Cohen said. “He did something that was incredibly stupid and will have a lasting effect upon his family … it’s just really a tragedy.”
Alrawi was arrested later that day on suspicion of murder.
