The NC Court of Appeals found that Khalil Farook’s attorney conceded his guilt to a lesser charge to the jury without his consent.
ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — The North Carolina Court of Appeals handed down a split decision in the case of a man convicted of killing two motorcyclists in a 2012 crash in Rowan County, partially agreeing with his appeal and rejecting other parts of it.
Khalil Abdul Farook, 63, was convicted of two counts of second-degree murder in 2018 for a crash that killed Tommy Jones, 47, and Suzette Jones, 48, in Rowan County. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Prosecutors said Farook crossed the center line and struck the couple’s motorcycle in June 2012. He was initially charged with DWI and two counts of felony death by motor vehicle, with second-degree murder charges added in 2017.
The case faced multiple delays, with Farook spending six years in jail before trial. After his conviction, he won an appeal claiming his right to a speedy trial was violated. The North Carolina Supreme Court agreed and returned the case to Rowan County. The court cited its case backlog for the delay and ruled against Farook in 2022.
Farook appealed the 2022 ruling, once again stating that his right to a speedy trial was violated. Farook also argued that his attorney’s remarks during the trial’s closing arguments were done so without his consent. He also believed his case lacked sufficient evidence to prove he acted with malice, which is necessary for a second-degree murder conviction.
In its Dec. 31 ruling, the appeals court upheld the lower court’s finding on the speedy trial issue and agreed there was sufficient evidence of malice, noting Farook fled the scene and was driving impaired with a revoked license.
However, the court found Farook’s attorney acted against his interests by telling jurors to find his client guilty of a lesser charge. The case now returns to Rowan County, where the court could seek a new trial if this was done by his attorney without his consent.
Farook will remain in a North Carolina prison as the case continues.
