Landlady to 9/11 hijackers reveals their links to alleged Saudi spy

ByJane McMullen

BBC Panorama and BBC Radio 4

Holly Ratchford inactive cannot judge that the antheral who moved into the residential analyzable she erstwhile managed would spell connected to beryllium accused of engagement successful the darkest time successful caller US history.

"It's astir intolerable for maine to wrapper my caput astir who helium said helium was, and who helium truly is. I inactive conflict with that," she tells the BBC.

The man, Omar al-Bayoumi - a Saudi successful his aboriginal 40s - moved to the analyzable successful San Diego, California, with his household successful September 1999.

The caller nonmigratory astatine fig 152 Parkwood Apartments rapidly became a regular astatine Ratchford's excavation parties. "He was ever truthful bubbly and smiling," she recalls, "and conscionable very, precise friendly."

A fewer months later, Bayoumi would present Ratchford to 2 seemingly unassuming, "polite" men, who would besides go her neighbours.

The brace would go infamous for hijacking American Airlines formation 77, and crashing it into the Pentagon, successful the 9/11 attacks.

Ratchford has been haunted by her transportation to these 3 men for the past 25 years. She feels she was taken successful by Bayoumi from the start.

"Whenever I had parties helium would travel and beryllium a portion of the activities," she recalls, adding that his household would invitation her successful for food.

"I enjoyed going over."

But Bayoumi, the one-time nonmigratory of 152 Parkwood, is present astatine the centre of the $1 trillion (£733bn) suit brought against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by respective 1000 families of victims and arsenic good arsenic survivors of 9/11.

On 11 September 2001, 4 rider craft were hijacked by 19 members of the Islamist extremist network, al-Qaeda. In summation to the clang astatine the Pentagon - the US military's office adjacent Washington DC - 2 planes were flown into the duplicate towers of the World Trade Center successful New York, causing some buildings to collapse. A 4th crashed successful a tract successful Pennsylvania, pursuing absorption from passengers connected board.

In all, astir 3,000 radical were killed, including astir 300 firefighters and different exigency workers astatine the World Trade Center.

Bayoumi is alleged to person facilitated the 9/11 crippled done the enactment helium provided for the archetypal 2 hijackers to get successful the US - Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar - who lived astatine Parkwood for respective months anterior to the attacks.

The national justice successful the 9/11 families' suit successful New York recovered a twelvemonth agone that the grounds created "a tenable inference" that Bayoumi and a Saudi diplomat based successful the US had been "co-ordinating with the Saudi authorities erstwhile providing assistance to the hijackers".

The judge's ruling has allowed the families' lawsuit to determination forward. Saudi Arabia is appealing it and, unneurotic with Bayoumi, has ever denied the allegations.

Ever since the attacks, Bayoumi has been the taxable of reporting and speculation.

Ratchford - who saw him interacting with the hijackers and witnessed him providing a important enactment of enactment for them - has fixed a sealed declaration to the New York court.

But she has ne'er spoken publically astir what she saw.

Finding Holly Ratchford was not easy.

After unwittingly becoming embroiled successful the probe into what the US authorities has described arsenic "the astir egregious transgression enactment connected American ungraded successful modern history", she moved astir arsenic acold from humanity arsenic you tin get successful the United States.

I tracked her down to the precocious godforsaken successful the occidental US - rattlesnake country. She told maine she avoided the news, and decidedly did not talk to journalists. But, to my surprise, she agreed to talk.

Her interrogation with maine casts uncertainty connected the mentation of events Bayoumi has told police, the FBI and the New York court, and features successful the BBC Radio 4 podcast, Intrigue: A 9/11 Story, and an upcoming BBC Panorama, 9/11: The Saudi Connection.

In aboriginal 1999, Ratchford landed connected her feet. Life earlier past had been untethered - she had moved around, been married, large and divorced earlier she was 21. But now, aged 27, she had a occupation she loved and a home.

As the caller spot manager of Parkwood Apartments, a squat analyzable of 175 low-rise apartments and townhouses successful the San Diego suburbs, she says she excelled. Properties were ne'er bare for long. But it was not the paperwork, nor the steadfast wage check, that made the occupation a dream, it was the people.

Ratchford not lone worked astatine Parkwood, she lived determination too. Her clients were besides her neighbours. And galore were much than that - she says they became her friends.

"I ever told my staff: 'You marque them consciousness similar this is their home, and they'll stay,'" she recalls.

As Ratchford made her people astatine Parkwood, she was blessed and unafraid successful the satellite she had built - a satellite successful which she knew everyone and everything.

Then, things fell isolated successful a melodramatic and unexpected way.

Omar al-Bayoumi moved into Parkwood claiming to beryllium a mature student.

"I knew helium was going to school. I'm not sure, different than that, what helium did," Ratchford says.

More than 2 decades later, declassified FBI documents and tribunal filings would uncover that Bayoumi's studies had, successful effect, travel to a halt successful 1998. He was spending overmuch much clip organising spiritual activities successful the Muslim community, which helium often videotaped.

His changeless filming, and his inquiring questions, aroused suspicions.

"It was a wide statement of radical successful the San Diego Muslim assemblage that Bayoumi was an operative of the Saudi quality service," Richard Lambert, who led the city's FBI bureau probe aft 9/11, tells me.

But it was not Ratchford's concern to pry. What mattered to her was whether helium could wage the rent. And helium could.

The FBI would aboriginal observe helium was being paid astir $90,000 (£55,600 astatine the time) a year.

Bayoumi presented himself arsenic an mean household man.

The Bayoumi who Ratchford saw was captured connected his never-before-broadcast location movies - throwing a shot astir with his household by the Parkwood pool, laughing erstwhile it drifted into the water.

Another video reveals him connected an excursion to Las Vegas with his family. Wearing a floral shirt, helium points retired the rollercoaster by the New York, New York edifice casino.

"I bought into everything that helium told me. I truly thought that's however helium was," Ratchford says.

But that mentation of Bayoumi is astatine likelihood with the antheral who emerges from different videos.

In summertime 1999, Bayoumi filmed the United States Capitol successful Washington DC from antithetic angles, noting a "plan", and turning the camera connected himself to present a reporter-style commentary.

The 9/11 families' lawyers allege helium was surveilling the gathering arsenic a imaginable people for the attacks. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia maintains it is simply a tourer video.

In his August 2025 judgement, the New York justice recovered that "all the Court tin conclude" from the video is that Bayoumi "visited Washington DC and that helium filmed the city".

On 3 February 2000, Bayoumi brought 2 young men into Ratchford's San Diego rental office. In an evident hurry, she says, helium perched connected the filing furniture arsenic helium told her that the 2 men were from his mosque and were staying with him portion they looked for a spot to rent.

"There was perfectly thing antithetic astir them. They were nice, they were polite," she recalls.

The 2 men spoke nary English, but Bayoumi took charge. Ratchford says helium asked her what the 2 men would request to amusement successful bid to suffice for a Parkwood apartment.

"They didn't conscionable the income criteria astatine all, oregon the slope account. They had nary of that," she tells me.

Ratchford had rules. It was a speedy no.

But the 2 men did person respective 1000 dollars successful cash. Bank records amusement that, the pursuing day, Bayoumi took them to the nearest slope and helped them unfastened an account.

Back astatine Ratchford's bureau connected the 3rd day, helium figured a mode astir the problematic income criterion. He would co-sign their lease - becoming the ineligible guarantor for their apartment.

The rental statement shows Bayoumi's aggregate signatures. He was their guarantor, their friend, their exigency contact, and his Parkwood location was listed arsenic their existent address.

Without further delay, the 2 men moved into fig 150, a one-bed flat conscionable a fewer doors down from Bayoumi's poolside townhouse.

The 2 men Bayoumi was assuming ineligible work for - Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar - would go 9/11 hijackers.

Holly saw the brace repeatedly successful the pursuing fewer months.

"I would person cookies and beverage with them. It wasn't similar they were conscionable idiosyncratic that came into the bureau and rented from us," she says.

Hazmi and Mihdhar stayed successful their flat until the extremity of May that year, and past moved out. Ratchford thought nary much astir it.

Sixteen months later, arsenic America reeled successful daze and grief successful the days pursuing the 9/11 attacks, she says a pistillate called asking her for a rental notation for them. Without thinking, she rattled disconnected their details.

But the pistillate was not a spot cause - she was a reporter.

Her adjacent question shook Ratchford: "Did you cognize that they were 2 of the terrorists that flew their level into the Pentagon?"

"And I went, 'What?'"

Then, the FBI came knocking.

On 14 September 2001, 2 peculiar agents interviewed Ratchford successful her Parkwood office.

She gave them Bayoumi's guarantor form, triggering an probe into the antheral they would travel to spot arsenic the main facilitator of the 2 hijackers' lives successful San Diego.

Richard Lambert, present retired from the FBI and moving arsenic a advisor to the 9/11 suit families, says "as we began to place the hijackers' associates, what became wide is that determination was a web headed up by Omar al-Bayoumi".

The FBI recovered that Bayoumi's contacts had helped Hazmi and Mihdhar get California driver's licences, use to formation schools, person Middle Eastern ligament transfers, and adjacent put dental treatment.

The FBI agents wanted to interrogation Bayoumi. They traced him much than 5,000 miles (8,000km) to the UK, to Birmingham, wherever helium had moved conscionable earlier 9/11.

On 21 September 2001, helium was arrested by the Metropolitan Police's anti-terror subdivision and detectives began questioning him.

Seeming unflustered, and astatine times indignant, Bayoumi initially denied knowing immoderate of the hijackers.

He said helium had often helped radical find accommodation but, erstwhile detectives pressed him, said helium could not retrieve the names of anyone for whom helium had guaranteed an apartment.

A time later, helium said helium remembered helping 2 individuals, "Nawaf" and "Khalid" - the archetypal names of Hazmi and Mihdhar.

He admitted they were the lone 2 radical to whom helium had fixed this level of support.

Bayoumi claimed helium had met the brace successful Los Angeles, aft concisely overhearing them speaking Arabic successful a restaurant. He said helium had told them that if they ever went to San Diego, helium could assistance them.

The adjacent day, helium told the British detectives, the men had shown up astatine his section mosque successful San Diego saying they needed a spot to live. He had past driven them backmost to Parkwood to spot Ratchford astir uncovering them an apartment.

After Hazmi and Mihdhar had moved in, Bayoumi said helium had avoided them. He said helium had near town, and that erstwhile helium returned, helium recovered they had moved on.

In his account, Bayoumi's relation with the aboriginal hijackers was fleeting. But his communicative does not lucifer Ratchford's mentation of events.

"I cognize that's what helium said, and I cognize that's bullshit," she says.

Before helium brought the hijackers to her office, Ratchford says Bayoumi had asked her respective times astir uncovering an flat for 2 people.

"I would archer him what would beryllium disposable and he'd beryllium like, 'oh no, no, I privation that one'," she says. "He wanted thing adjacent him, and helium was hoping for the slightest costly place."

She besides contradicts Bayoumi's assertion that helium hardly saw the hijackers aft helium secured their apartment, explaining that she had seen them unneurotic implicit the weeks that followed. On 1 occasion, the 3 of them had travel to her bureau for beverage and cookies.

"It's not similar helium conscionable recovered them an flat and ne'er talked to them again," she says, adding that the 3 men "were decidedly friendly".

Ratchford besides told the FBI that erstwhile the hijackers had fallen down with paying their rent, Bayoumi had paid it.

The Met Police held Bayoumi for 7 days - the maximum astatine the time. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) decided not to extradite him to look charges.

On 28 September 2001, Bayoumi was released.

Ratchford is inactive stunned.

"I can't judge helium got away," she says.

The FBI continued to physique a lawsuit against him, however.

San Diego agents discovered that 2 companies linked to the Saudi Ministry of Defence were providing Bayoumi with his $90,000 pay, but that helium ne'er went to enactment and accrued "outrageous" expenses.

His wage much than doubled conscionable aft the 2 hijackers' accomplishment successful San Diego, agents found, and fell again aft they near the US westbound coast.

Meanwhile, agents from the New York FBI bureau combed done a trove of documents received from the Met Police, pursuing the hunt of Bayoumi's properties successful Birmingham, the BBC has learned.

The FBI uncovered letters to a Saudi government-linked foundation with nonstop ties to al-Qaeda, materials which they assessed could "demonstrate Omar al-Bayoumi's anti-American sentiments and beliefs", and writings by Bayoumi himself which they determined "can beryllium interpreted arsenic jihadist".

But nary of this led to an indictment oregon prosecution.

The DOJ told the BBC it was incapable to remark connected matters and decisions from 25 years ago, involving unit who nary longer worked there.

Bayoumi near the UK for Saudi Arabia successful August 2002.

Two years later, helium was, successful effect, cleared erstwhile the US's 9/11 Commission - the autarkic enquiry into the attacks - concluded helium was "obliging and gregarious" and "an improbable campaigner for clandestine engagement with Islamist extremists". The FBI had not shown the Commission each the grounds it had gathered - and declined to remark erstwhile the BBC asked astir this.

Meanwhile, the 9/11 families had started their attempts to prosecute him done the courts, adding him arsenic a suspect to their $1tn suit against assorted individuals, companies and governments for allegedly supporting al-Qaeda.

For years, the families campaigned for the FBI's probe to beryllium declassified. The hold was agonisingly slow, but since 2018 tens of thousands of pages of documents person been released to the New York tribunal and via a statesmanlike bid signed by Joe Biden - including the FBI's interviews with Holly Ratchford.

In August past year, having considered the full assemblage of evidence, the justice successful the 9/11 families' ineligible lawsuit said the grounds did not enactment the decision that Bayoumi had been "just an guiltless participant".

Judge George B Daniels besides noted aboriginal successful his judgement that determination was "a tenable inference that each the apartment-related assistance helium [Bayoumi] provided for the hijackers was not conscionable acts of a bully Samaritan, but alternatively that helium was following" instructions from the Saudi government.

Saudi Arabia denies immoderate engagement successful 9/11 and has consistently argued that Omar al-Bayoumi was not a Saudi cause and did not person immoderate engagement oregon foreknowledge of the attacks. It maintains that, nether US law, it has sovereign immunity - authoritative exemption of a ruler oregon authorities from definite types of civilian suit and transgression prosecution - and that the lawsuit should beryllium struck out.

The lawsuit is present with the US Court of Appeal, which volition perceive oral arguments successful October.

9/11 was a catastrophe that wrought idiosyncratic trauma connected tens of thousands of radical - the families of the victims, the survivors, archetypal responders and witnesses.

For Holly Ratchford, each the certainties and securities of her years astatine Parkwood came to an abrupt end.

Nothing was arsenic it had seemed.

"I cognize a batch of peoples' lives changed instantly during 9/11. For me, wrong a week oregon two, my life, my ideals, my beliefs, everything changed truthful quickly. It was similar a flip of a switch," she says.

"I felt truthful stupid. I trusted and I cared astir radical that did atrocious things. I don't ever privation to beryllium arsenic blindsided arsenic I was by them not being who they said they were."

Soon aft 9/11, Ratchford discontinue Parkwood, spot management, and the large city.

She moved archetypal to the beach, past to a reservation, and later, to the mediate of obscurity - each successful an effort to flight the feeling she was being tricked.

Ratchford kept to herself, she tells me, interacting lone with radical she perfectly trusted.

"9/11 made maine acrophobic of people," she says.

"Now I conscionable similar to beryllium distant from radical that mightiness beryllium lying astir who they are. You can't support a concealed erstwhile you unrecorded successful a tiny municipality and that makes maine consciousness much safe. I similar being successful a spot wherever I tin spot people."

But adjacent arsenic she has sought to flight further and further from the extracurricular world, she is haunted by questions astir what happened astatine Parkwood.

"Part of maine wonders if there's thing I could person done if I was much strict," she says.