A US court on Wednesday charged murder to an Egyptian American after his autistic children drowned four years ago.
In the incident, which took place in 2015, Ali drove his car and his family to water in front of the San Pedro port, south of Los Angeles, to obtain insurance money, according to the authorities.
The 44-year-old was driving alongside his wife, Raba Diab. In the back were his autistic children, 8 and 13 years old.
When the car sank into the water, Ali managed to swim to the pier while fishermen rescued his wife who could not swim.
The eldest son of the couple, who was also suffering from a form of autism, was not present during the incident.
After the two children died, the defendant told the investigators not to know why the car had fallen into the water, and that he might have pressed the accelerator instead of the brake.
The decorator, who was also arrested in November for forgery for insurance compensation, is accused of receiving more than $ 260,000 from two insurance companies.
According to the authorities, most of this amount was transferred to Egypt, and approximately $ 80,000 was confiscated from his account in the United States.
His trial is due to begin on 3 September and he will be tried for murder and attempted murder of his wife and the prosecution may seek the death penalty against him.