3 brothers charged with premeditated murder after sister’s disappearance

AMMAN — The Criminal Court prosecutor over the weekend levelled charges of premeditated murder against three brothers in connection with the alleged murder of their divorced sister almost 13 years ago, senior official sources said.

Last week, the Public Security Directorate (PSD) announced the arrest of three brothers after the Cold Case Unit at the PSD received information that a woman was allegedly murdered by her father, who died in 2021, and three of her brothers while at her home in an eastern Amman neighbourhood in 2009.

Investigators received a tip-off from a family member who informed a friend about the murder of their female family member, who was in her 20s, by strangling and stabbing her and then burying her body in the Wadi Mujib area, according to senior judicial sources.

“One of the three brothers confessed to murdering his sibling by choking and stabbing her with the help of his late father and two other brothers,” a senior judicial source told The Jordan Times.

The source added that forensic experts and investigators were still “combing the area in search of the victim’s body”.

“The suspect informed us that the body was buried at a quarry plant so it will take us some time to locate the body given the geographical area,” the senior judicial source explained.

The senior source added that based on the initial statements by one of the three suspects, the victim was allegedly murdered “because she would often leave the house without their permission”.  

The family never reported their female relative missing and, instead, claimed to their neighbours and family members that “she left to a neighbouring country”, Police Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi said recently.

“We checked our records and concluded that the woman never left the country as her family claimed and her whereabouts are unknown, so we summoned the three brothers for questioning,” Sartawi told The Jordan Times.

The Criminal Court prosecutor is currently questioning family members and neighbours to learn more about the reported disappearance of the woman.

The three brothers were ordered detained by the Criminal Court prosecutor for 15 days pending further investigation.