ORLANDO, Fla. -- A report released Monday said investigators didn’t find evidence that a Columbus teenager would be in jeopardy if she returned home, despite her claims that she fears for her life for converting from Islam to Christianity.
The 17-year-old ran away from her parents' home in suburban Columbus in July, saying she feared being killed for changing religions. The family immigrated from Sri Lanka in 2000.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement released the report less than an hour ago. It had been sealed for the last 10 days per Rifqa Bary's attorney’s request.
Click here to read the entire report.
Rifqa is the northeast Columbus teen who fled to Florida, saying she felt her father might kill her because of her Christian beliefs.
The report said investigators found no evidence of a threat to Rifqa, and the report described her concern about being killed as "speculative and subjective."
It also indicated some inconsistencies in Rifqa's story.
Rifqa originally said she hitchhiked to a bus stop; investigators found she got a ride from a friend.
She also originally said she used money from her job to purchase the ticket; investigators found the ticket was purchased by somebody in Orlando for her.
Rifqa's father did acknowledge to investigators that he did argue with his daughter over her Christian beliefs in June, grabbing her laptop and lifting it to throw, before deciding he has invested too much money in it to break it.
He denied threatening to kill her.
Investigators said Mohammed Bary was cooperative and said if Rifqa were to return to Columbus, she would be free to study Christianity.
Mohammed declined to speak on camera Monday night.
His attorney wants the case dismissed, arguing the Florida courts have no jurisdiction because the parties lived here and the alleged wrongdoing took place in Ohio.
Rifqa's attorney says Ohio Job and Family Services was to decide whether to investigate the case locally.
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