BG father, son to be tried together in murder case

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Ali Fadil

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Sabah Khadim

A Bowling Green man charged in connection with a 2024 homicide will be tried later this month alongside his father, a judge has ruled.

Ali Fadil, 31, is under indictment on charges of murder, abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence.

Fadil is suspected of causing the death of Michael Scott Lee, 56, of Bowling Green, whose body was found Dec. 22, 2024, in a Jeep Cherokee on Morgantown Road.

Fadil’s father, Sabah Khadim, 57, is charged with abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence.

Both men are scheduled to go to trial Nov. 17, and Warren Circuit Judge Chris Cohron ruled on Thursday that the pair would be tried together, denying motions from their attorneys to sever the cases.

Attorney Jason Pfeil of the Department of Public Advocacy, arguing on behalf of Fadil, said that trying Fadil and Khadim together could raise the possibility of antagonistic defenses in which one co-defendant blames the other.

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Pfeil noted at Thursday’s hearing that Fadil faces a maximum possible sentence of 50 years or life in prison, while Khadim is charged with two Class D felonies, each carrying a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

Khadim’s attorney, Dwight Burton, argued that much of the evidence related to the murder charge against Fadil would improperly bolster the case against Khadim on the other counts in the jury’s mind.

“I think there is a very real risk of a jury putting both of these defendants in the same basket,” Burton said Thursday. “Most of the evidence would not be admissible if Mr. Khadim were to be on trial by himself.”

Warren County Commonwealth’s Attorney Kori Beck Bumgarner argued that Fadil and Khadim can be tried together because it is alleged that the two participated in the same act or series of acts constituting the criminal offenses charged against them.

Bumgarner said that she was prepared to prove that Fadil met with Lee on the night of the homicide and that the two traveled to Shanty Hollow, where Lee was killed with a hammer.

Fadil then drove back to the home he shared with Khadim and then traveled with the body to Morgantown Road, where the Jeep with the body inside was allegedly staged to appear as if it had been in an accident, Bumgarner said.

Cell phone tower data for Fadil, Khadim and Lee help to establish the prosecution’s contention that Fadil and Khadim acted together. according to Bumgarner.

“These three phones appear to travel back out to the scene of the murder at Shanty Hollow and are co-located, all three together,” Bumgarner said.

In ruling against the motion for separate trials, Cohron said that he did not see any prejudicial effect arising out of having Fadil and Khadim tried together.

During the hearing, Cohron asked if a plea offer had been extended to either defendant in the case, and Bumgarner said an offer had been made known to Fadil recommending a total sentence of 30 years in prison in exchange for a guilty plea to murder and the other counts.

Questioned by Cohron, Fadil said he was aware of the offer and that he had declined it.