LOS ANGELES - A woman who US police say was run over by her Iraqi immigrant father because he thought she had become "too westernized" has died from her injuries, local media reported.Noor Almaleki of Surprise, Arizona, died Monday from injuries sustained after her father hit her and her boyfriend's mother in a parking lot on October 20, Mike Tellef of the Peoria Police Department told KPHO television.
Prosecutors have called the incident an "honor killing". The 20-year-old had earlier undergone spinal surgery.
In some cases of such killings, relatives convene a so-called family council and task a clan member to murder a female relative accused of staining their honor, usually by having an affair outside marriage.
"By his own admission, this was an intentional act and the reason was that his daughter had brought shame on him and his family," county prosecutor Stephanie Low told a Maricopa County judge over the weekend.
"This was an attempt at an honor killing."
Faleh Hassan Almaleki, 48, currently held at a county jail on two counts of aggravated assault, will face upgraded charges, The Arizona Republic said, citing Peoria police.
Relatives told local media that Almaleki, who immigrated with his family from Iraq to Peoria in the mid-1990s, became infuriated when his daughter married a man in Iraq but returned to Arizona to live with her boyfriend and his mother, 43-year-old Amal Edan Khalaf.
Family members told KPHO that Khalaf was in serious but stable condition.
Police said Almaleki fled the United States after the attack, first driving to Mexico before flying to London. British authorities detained him and he was extradited to Atlanta, Georgia last week.
Other relatives may have been involved in helping Almaleki flee, Low said.
"We can't be naive and ignore that there's a cultural aspect to this and there may be people who would support him, including his family, but also others who share his beliefs," she said.
Bail for Almaleki was set at five million dollars.