What we know about the Saudi sisters found dead along the Hudson River

These were students who accompanied their brother to Washington, according to the Consulate General of Saudi Arabia.

Rotana was once a registered student at George Mason University, according to school spokesman, Michael Sandler. He told CNN that Rotana Farea was registered from spring 2016 to spring 2018.

They were placed in a shelter-like facility in Fairfax, Virginia, following allegations of abuse in their home country. Shea did not elaborate further details and abuse, which, he said, is not corroborated at this time.

The sisters were last seen together in Fairfax on August 24th.

What about their family?

Authorities reported that the sisters were last seen by their family at their residence in Virginia on November 30, 2017.

The last family had contact with the girls in December 2017 and had no further contact between that date and August 2018, Shea said.

Their mother apparently lives in the United States because Saudi officials told CNN that US officials had asked her to leave the country, apparently because of her immigrant status.

How are they dead?

In the afternoon of October 24, the bodies of two young women were found on the banks of the Hudson River in New York, near the 68th and Riverside, in an area where "c & # 39; is such a place where you have to walk in the water. Shea says.

They wore black leggings and fur-lined jackets. Shea said that they had been tied together at the waist with tape, which allowed them to "hold them together" without binding them.

The bodies were identified as sisters on October 27th.

The police have not yet determined the cause of death.

A law enforcement official, who spoke to CNN on condition of anonymity, told CNN that water had been found in the sisters' lungs, suggesting to investigators that They were alive when they went in the water.

The official told CNN investigators that these deaths were a suicide.

The bodies showed no signs of trauma, according to the police. On Friday, Shea dismissed reports that they would have jumped off the George Washington Bridge stating, "We have absolutely no information to show us."

"Is it possible? I can tell you that there were no, say, marks on the body, indicative of a fall from a height."

In the end, the investigators did not uncover any evidence suggesting that they were victims of an unfair game.

"At the moment, we have no credible information that a crime was committed in New York," said Shea, "but the investigation is still ongoing."

How did they get to New York?

In tracking the use of credit cards, the detectives determined that they had first traveled to Washington, DC, then to Philadelphia and had finally arrived in New York on September 1. , according to a spokeswoman for the NYPD.

They took several modes of transport, including Uber, authorities said.

What did the sisters do before they died?

The sisters spent their last weeks in upscale hotels in New York, including the Hilton and Hyatt, Shea said.

They also went shopping and ordered food – always two meals, he said.

The expenses were put on a credit card that was eventually capped.

Police saw a video last week showing the sisters "seemingly healthy," Shea said.

The detectives are also exploring downtown Manhattan for surveillance recordings, eyewitness accounts, anything that can help them understand what happened.

"We are looking at a gap of two months" between their disappearance from Virginia and the discovery of the bodies, said Shea.

Did someone see them just before dying?

Police said that a "credible" eyewitness was introduced on October 31 to tell a story with detectives who "haunted" him.

The witness stated that he was exercising around 7 am on the day of the discovery of the Farea Sisters' bodies.

He saw two girls sitting in Riverside Park in a playground located "a very short distance" from the Hudson River, police said. The girls were sitting about 10 meters away, with their heads in their hands, making loud noises that the witness described as praying.

Was it the first time that they disappeared?

No. According to the Fairfax County Police, the sisters were reported missing one day in December 2017.

Officer Tara Gerhard, a spokeswoman for the department, said the sisters had been "referred to services", but she could not say what kind of services, nor offer any additional details, citing Privacy laws.

Did the girls ask for asylum?

Investigators told investigators that the sisters said they preferred to hurt themselves or kill themselves rather than return to Saudi Arabia.

A Saudi official told CNN that the daughter's mother's immigration status had expired and that US officials had asked her to leave the country. But the Saudis asked immigration and customs to give their mother an extension and called their mother to warn her, the official said.

The Saudi authorities are still trying to find out if Rotana and Tala have asked for asylum, the official said. The official also refuted reports that the family was returned to Saudi Arabia because the girls had applied for asylum.

The New York Times reported that the Saudi Embassy in Washington had called Rotana and Tala's mother to inform her that her daughters had applied for asylum in the United States.

Department of Homeland Security officials declined to comment and referred the issues to the NYPD as the case manager.