[2] Syriani was born in Jerusalem, which at the time was part of the British Mandate of Palestine, into an Assyrian Christian family.

When he was 12, his father was imprisoned by the at-the-time new nation of Israel, causing him to have a mental breakdown and become unstable,[3] as well as later developing cancer.

After his military service, he left and worked as a machinist for a company in Jordan, as well as for a radio station, singing in Arabic.

But after moving in 1986 to Charlotte, North Carolina, she took a job at a gas station, dressed in a more American fashion and made friends.

After getting out of his van, he went over to her car, where through an open window, he stabbed Teresa 28 times with a screwdriver, with their 10-year-old son, John, in the passenger seat.

Syriani gave a different version of events, testifying at his trial that he did not block Teresa's path, nor did he intend to hurt or kill her that night.

On 12 June 1991 he was sentenced to death at the Mecklenburg County Superior Court, with the jury finding as an aggravating factor the crime being especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel.

Syriani testified that his wife had hit him almost every day in front of their children and had called the police about him several times.

Their middle daughter, Sara, testified in the penalty phase of the trial, that during one argument, Syriani chased Teresa with a pair of scissors.

In another instance, Teresa claimed that Syriani back-handed her while they were in the car and one time threw her down the stairs by her hair.

An appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States was denied in October 2005 and the execution date was subsequently set for 18 November 2005.

[5] An appeal for clemency was denied by the at-the-time North Carolinian Governor, Mike Easley on 17 November 2005, a day before Syriani's scheduled execution.