El Cajon Man Guilty of Killing Wife, 4 Relatives

After deliberating only two hours Wednesday, a jury found Toufic (Tom) Naddi guilty of five counts of first-degree murder in the 1985 shootings of his wife and her relatives.

Naddi, 47, of El Cajon, showed no emotion as San Diego Superior Court clerk Marie Ervin read the five guilty verdicts.

Judge Terry O’Rourke ordered the same jury to return Monday to begin the sanity phase of the trial, in which psychiatric evidence will be presented.

The jury also found special circumstances--that Naddi murdered multiple victims--a finding that could lead to the death penalty if Naddi is found to be sane.

The verdicts stem from the June 1, 1985, slayings of his wife, Aida, 26; her father, Habib Sabbagh, 73; her mother, Lillian Sabbagh, 58; her cousin Michael Sabbagh, 38, and her brother-in-law Osama Mashini, 38.

Naddi and his wife and two children were living in a home on Carlow Way in El Cajon that was owned by Habib Sabbagh, whose family is well-known and prosperous in Jordan.

Mashini was a prominent actor and comedian in Jordan.

All the victims were shot three to five times in the head.

“I was hoping for a fair trial and we’ve got one so far,” said Naddi’s attorney, Robert Bourne.

Prosecutor Bob Boles said: “I thought the evidence was fairly clear. The only one clear issue was premeditation, and I think the jury was able to zero in on that.”

Naddi, who has pleaded innocent by reason of insanity, testified that he killed all five victims.

Naddi claimed his father-in-law had sexual relations with Naddi’s wife--something both of them disputed when asked about it by an El Cajon police officer about a month before the shootings.