Neighbour prime suspect in murder of woman, setting body on fire — police

AMMAN – Investigations into the alleged killing of a 28-year-old married woman, whose body was found charred beyond recognition in her home, in Amman on Tuesday indicated that the suspect was her neighbour, senior official sources said.

The victim’s charred body was found by Civil Defence Department (CDD) rescue teams who were called to extinguish a fire in a house in the Nazal neighbourhood, Police Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi said.

“After extinguishing the fire, CDD personnel located a charred body of a female victim,” Sartawi told The Jordan Times.

However, an autopsy conducted at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine (NIFM) indicated that the victim’s death was foul play, according to Sartawi.

A special police taskforce was formed and determined that the victim’s neighbour, 33, was the prime suspect, the police official added.

In his initial testimony to Criminal Court Prosecutor Abdul Hakeem Awawdeh on Wednesday, the suspect claimed that he “went to the victim’s home to discuss a personal issue with her and an argument ensued”, a senior judicial source said.

“The argument became heated, and the suspect grabbed a wire and strangled the woman with it until he made sure she was dead,” the senior judicial source told The Jordan Times.

The suspect then “placed the woman on her bed and set it ablaze to conceal the murder and left”, the senior judicial source, who is close to the investigation, added.

On Tuesday, Awawdeh levelled premeditated murder and arson charges against the defendant.

A team of forensic experts headed by the director of the NIFM Raed Momani concluded that the woman was set on fire after her death.

“The victim’s body was burnt beyond recognition and the burns covered 100 per cent of her body,” Momani told The Jordan Times.

Prosecutor Awawdeh plans to summon dozens of witnesses, including the victim’s family members and residents of the building where she lived to learn more about the incident,” the senior judicial source said.

The Criminal Court prosecutor ordered that the suspect be detained at a correctional and rehabilitation centre for 15 days pending further investigation.