Pro Football Hall of Famer Fred Biletnikoff spoke today at the sentencing for the man who murdered his daughter 13 years ago, calling convicted killer Mohammed Haroon Ali an “animal.”
“There will never be any closure for me,” Biletnikoff said in court, according to the San Mateo County Times. “My hatred for Ali will never go away.”
A judge sentenced Ali, who at the time of the killing was already on probation for kidnapping and beating a previous girlfriend, to 55 years to life in prison.
This was the second time Ali was sentenced for the February 15, 1999 killing of Tracey Biletnikoff. Ali’s previous conviction was overturned on appeal on the grounds that the prosecutor dismissed a black member of the jury pool for racial reasons.
Ali admitted that he strangled Tracey Biletnikoff, whom he began dating after they met in a drug treatment center.
“I don’t know why I did this and maybe I will never know,” Ali said. “I would trade my life to bring Tracey back.”
After his daughter’s death, Fred Biletnikoff started the Tracey Biletnikoff Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting young women recovering from substance abuse and providing education for the prevention of domestic violence.