Bus driver charged with murder of 25-year-old sister

AMMAN — The Criminal Court prosecutor on Saturday charged a 40-year-old bus driver with premeditated murder in connection with the death and burning of his divorced sister in Irbid Governorate, official sources said.

The suspect, who was not identified, reportedly struck his 25-year-old sister with a shovel then poured gasoline on her body and set it ablaze at their home late Friday night, a senior judicial source said.

“The suspect told investigators he waited until he made sure his sister was dead and her body was completely burnt before surrendering to authorities, claiming family honour as his motive,” the source said, quoting initial questioning of the suspect by investigators.

In his initial testimony to Criminal Court Prosecutor Qahtan Qawaqzeh the suspect claimed that his sister “brought the family disgrace because she got divorced twice over allegedly illicit behaviour and was known in their village for her bad behaviour”, the judicial source added.

“The suspect said everyone in his village looked down on him because of his sister’s disgraceful acts and he felt like an outcast,” the source told The Jordan Times.

The suspect reportedly told Qawaqzeh “that he found no other solution but to kill his sister to cleanse his family’s honour and stop people from talking about his reputation and that of his family”, the source maintained.

On Friday night, the judicial source said, the suspect grabbed a shovel and “struck his sibling on her head then poured gasoline that he bought almost a month ago for this purpose and set his sister on fire”.

The victim’s remains were transferred to Irbid’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine for a government autopsy, a second source told The Jordan Times.

 “It seems from initial examination of the body that the woman was struck on her head with a blunt object and then set ablaze,” the second source said.

Pathologist Ali Shotar and a team of physicians will perform the autopsy on the victim on Sunday, the second source added.

The victim is survived by four children from two previous marriages, according to the judicial source.

It is not clear if the victim was still alive when she was burned, according to the judicial source, but the autopsy will determine that.

Qawaqzeh issued orders for the suspect’s detention at a correctional and rehabilitation centre for 15 days pending further investigation, the source said.

Qawaqzeh is expected to hear the testimony of more witnesses in the case this week, he added.