Katherine Lester

Katherine R. Lester (b. June 21, 1989) is an American teenager who traveled to the Middle East in June 2006 to meet Abdullah Jinzawi, a resident of Jericho whom she met on MySpace. A native of Gilford Township, Michigan (80 miles northeast of Detroit), she misled her parents by saying she was taking a trip to Canada with some friends, so that she could obtain a passport.

Upon returning to Michigan, the 16 year old Lester resumed communication with Abdullah, 20, and appeared on ABC's Good Morning America with her parents which also included a video conference of Abdullah overseas. In the segment, the two expressed mutual unconditional love for each other and Lester said she planned to marry him, but did not wish to answer a question on whether she would convert to Islam.

She had spent several months talking to Jinzawi, in the West Bank, but was stopped by FBI agents in Amman, Jordan for questioning while en route to meet him. Jinzawi's family says that Lester and Jinzawi had planned to marry, and that they did not know Lester was acting without her parents' consent. Jinzawi's family also say that they know of 5 other Palestinian men who were brought out of the West Bank refugee camp by marrying American girls they met on online dating sites. Officials in Tuscola County, Michigan filed a runaway petition against her. However, it was dismissed after Lester agreed to surrender her passport until she was 18, finish high school and undergo counseling.

On September 12, 2007, Lester, now 18, left the United States to join Jinzawi on the West Bank.
Despite fears that she wouldn't come back, she returned to the United States.

On November 26, 2007, Lester appeared on the syndicated Dr. Phil show. On the show, she spoke with Jinzawi via a satellite hookup, saying that she did not wish to continue their relationship. She claimed that Jinzawi was possessive and called her names, something Jinzawi denied. She also said that she met an American boy.
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