Last night after being interviewed by the FBI, The Detroit Free Press was able to contact the aunt of Nicole Lynn Mansfield, the American killed in Syria earlier this week.
A woman who identified herself as Nicole’s aunt, Monica Mansfield Speelman, said that she was “sick over” the death of her niece. In regards to Syrian allegations that Nicole was a terrorist, Speelman told the Detroit Free Press reporter, “I didn’t think she was (a terrorist), but God only knows.”
Woman killed while in Syria "grew up Baptist in Flint," Michigan. She converted to Islam after meeting Arab immigrant http://t.co/JIdAs7qWQc
— Niraj Warikoo (@nwarikoo) May 31, 2013
In the interview, Mansfield’s family members confirmed the marriage Heavy discovered late yesterday to Ayman Mohammed Bafil. According to the Detroit Free Press article, Mansfield’s family said she converted to Islam after they were married and that the divorce occurred “after he was able to get a green card that allowed him to stay long-term in the U.S.” However, the Free Press article also notes that the Mansfield’s family members did not know the name of the Arab husband she was briefly married to.
Still nothing is known about when Mansfield traveled to Syria or why, but we will keep you updated as the story emerges.
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