Landlady recalls Saudi man who brought 9/11 hijackers to her office

Holly Ratchford, who managed a residential complex in San Diego, California, where two of the 9/11 hijackers once lived, has shared her recollections of Omar al-Bayoumi, the Saudi national accused of aiding them.

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It's almost impossible for me to wrap my head around who he said he was, and who he really is. I still struggle with that.

Ratchford described Bayoumi as a friendly and "bubbly" man who frequented her pool parties. In February 2000, Bayoumi brought Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar to her office seeking an apartment. Although the pair did not meet the complex's income requirements, Bayoumi co-signed their lease and assisted them in opening a bank account.

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It's almost impossible for me to wrap my head around who he said he was, and who he really is. I still struggle with that.

At the time, Ratchford had no reason to suspect anything unusual about Hazmi and Mihdhar, recalling them as "nice" and "polite." The revelation of their identities as hijackers came after the attacks, when a woman inquired if she knew they were terrorists who had flown a plane into the Pentagon.

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always so bubbly and smiling

Former FBI investigator Richard Lambert told the BBC that investigators identified "a network headed up by Omar al-Bayoumi." A New York federal judge later found that evidence created a "reasonable inference" that Bayoumi and a Saudi diplomat coordinated with the Saudi government while assisting the hijackers. Saudi Arabia and Bayoumi deny these allegations, and Saudi Arabia is appealing the ruling. Ratchford, who has provided a sealed declaration to the court, stated she has been haunted by her connection to the men for 25 years.

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very, very friendly