Psychologist: Moussaoui schizophrenic 

Chaotic childhood
At the outset of her testimony Monday, Vogelsang said she did not intend to make excuses for Moussaoui’s actions as a terrorist but wanted to explain how he had reached that point. She never interviewed Moussaoui herself, relying instead on interviews with 50 family members, friends and others, like teachers, who knew him.

Vogelsang said that Moussaoui’s mother, Aicha el-Wafi, was beaten throughout her pregnancies — including six before she gave birth to Moussaoui. Born in a French town near the Spanish border and of Moroccan descent, Moussaoui went to an orphanage four months after his birth, when his mother was placed in a convalescent home, she said.

She added that Moussaoui’s family only nominally practiced Islam and celebrated Christian holidays because his mother wanted her children to integrate into French culture.

As a boy, Moussaoui made friends and displayed a sense of humor, Vogelsang said, despite a childhood in which Omar Moussaoui frequently beat el-Wafi and Moussaoui’s sister Jamilla. Later, when Moussaoui was 6 and his mother had divorced Omar, an uncle moved into the home and beat Moussaoui and other family members.

Mental illness a family legacy
Mental illness was rampant in the family. Omar is diagnosed with bipolar disorder and is currently institutionalized, Vogelsang said. Moussaoui’s two sisters have been diagnosed with schizophrenia and psychosis with schizophrenic features, respectively.

In 1992, Moussaoui moved to London in hopes of becoming an international businessman. He struggled to acclimate himself and learn English. He obtained a master’s degree from South Bank University. It was during Moussaoui’s time in London from 1993 to 1995 that his family noticed a transformation.

“He started shaving his head and wearing a beard,” Vogelsang said. “He was fussing at his sisters for how they dressed,” calling one sister a “whore” for dressing in Western clothing.

Would-be shoe bomber won’t testify
Testimony resumed Monday with the defense in flux. Moussaoui took the witness stand in his own defense Thursday for a second time, and again did more harm to himself than good as he reveled in the death and destruction of Sept. 11 and mocked the testimony of the victims and their families.

One day after Moussaoui’s testimony, the judge vacated an earlier order compelling would-be shoe bomber Richard Reid to testify in his defense. The jury may instead hear a written statement summarizing some of what the al-Qaida comrade would have said on the witness stand.

Reid is serving a life sentence in the federal government’s maximum-security prison in Florence, Colo., after a failed try to blow up an American Airlines flight in 2001.

Buddies in al-Qaida
Moussaoui, who calls Reid his “buddy” from their days together in al-Qaida training camps in Afghanistan, testified last month that he and Reid were going to hijack a fifth plane on Sept. 11, 2001, and fly it into the White House.

That testimony came after Moussaoui had for years denied any specific role in 9/11.

Moussaoui’s lawyers have suggested he fabricated his story about Reid and their role in the 9/11 plot in an effort to sabotage his own defense and achieve martyrdom through execution. They also say he is trying to inflate his role in history.

Defense lawyers had hoped Reid would disavow any knowledge of Moussaoui’s claim and bolster their argument that Moussaoui is now lying.

Moussaoui is the only person charged in this country in the Sept. 11 attacks.

MORE FROM SECURITY

Security Section Front

Gitmo detainees finally get day in court   Officials to inspect U.S. jail for Gitmo inmates Parties split on N.Y. trials of alleged terrorists New Yorkers worry about 9/11 trial Security Section Front   Add Security headlines to your news reader: