For Muslims around the world, this was the crime of the century. On July 1, Marwa el-Sherbini, 31 a devout Egyptian-born pharmacist appeared in a court in Dresden, Germany, to testify against Alex Wien, an unemployed Russian émigré who was appealing an earlier conviction of defaming el-Sherbini by calling her an "Islamist" and a "terrorist" on a playground. Prosecutors said that after el-Sherbini's testimony, Wien lunged at her with a 7-in. kitchen knife he had smuggled into court and stabbed her at least 16 times. Her husband Elwy Okaz, 32, was also repeatedly stabbed before being shot by a police officer who mistook him for el-Sherbini's attacker. He survived. El-Sherbini, who was three months pregnant at the time, bled to death in front of the couple's 3-year-old son. Wien was tried in the same courtroom where el-Sherbini was killed. He was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. El-Sherbini's husband filed lawsuits against the judge and regional court overseeing the original trial.
The Top 10 Everything of 2009
- Top 10 Albums
- Top 10 Animal Stories
- Top 10 Apologies
- Top 10 Art Exhibitions
- Top 10 Awkward Moments
- Top 10 Best Business Deals
- Top 10 Breakups
- Top 10 Buzzwords
- Top 10 Children's Books
- Top 10 Crime Stories
- Top 10 Editorial Cartoons
- Top 10 Facebook Stories
- Top 10 Fashion Faux Pas
- Top 10 Fashion Moments
- Top 10 Feuds
- Top 10 Fiction Books
- Top 10 Fleeting Celebrities
- Top 10 Gadgets
- Top 10 Green Ideas
- Top 10 Heroes
- Top 10 iPhone Apps
- Top 10 Late-Night Jokes
- Top 10 Magazine Covers
- Top 10 Medical Breakthroughs
- Top 10 Movie Performances
- Top 10 Movies
- Top 10 New Species
- Top 10 News Stories
- Top 10 Nonfiction Books
- Top 10 Oddball News Stories
- Top 10 Pariahs
- Top 10 Pictures of the Year
- Top 10 Plays and Musicals
- Top 10 Political Gaffes
- Top 10 Quotes
- Top 10 Religion Stories
- Top 10 Scandals
- Top 10 Scientific Discoveries
- Top 10 Songs
- Top 10 Sports Moments
- Top 10 T-Shirt-Worthy Slogans
- Top 10 TV Ads
- Top 10 TV Episodes
- Top 10 TV Series
- Top 10 Tweets
- Top 10 Underreported Stories
- Top 10 Untruths
- Top 10 Video Games
- Top 10 Viral Videos
- Top 10 Worst Biz Deals
TIME charts the highs and lows of the past year in 50 wide-ranging lists