Father drops charges against son accused of decapitating, mutilating mother

AMMAN — The father of a 28-year-old man, who is standing trial for allegedly murdering and decapitating his mother in Amman last November, on Tuesday said his son was acting strangely before the incident.

The father, who was testifying under oath at the Criminal Court, told the tribunal that he took his son to a witch doctor because he “was behaving in a strange way”.

“She gave him a glass of water and he vomited, but nothing changed,” the father said.

The defendant’s brother testified in court that the family took him to the National Institute of Psychiatric Medicine because “of his odd behaviours”.

“The NIPM informed us that nothing was wrong with him,” the brother told the court during the one-hour court session.

The defendant’s father dropped charges against his son during the court hearing, but his brother refused to drop the charges.

In a previous session, two other brothers, who testified to the prosecution, expressed conflicting opinions, with one brother telling the court he wished to drop the charges, while a second stated he did not.

A judicial source told The Jordan Times on Tuesday that “the defendant will not benefit from any reduction, because some of his family members refused to drop the charges”.

“The fact that some of his brothers refused to drop the charges, while his father did not, does not mean that the verdict will decrease,” the judicial source explained.

The Criminal Court on Tuesday postponed the case  after the prosecution witnesses failed to show in court.

The defendant is standing trial on charges of allegedly murdering and decapitating his mother in the Tabarbour neighbourhood on November 3rd. 

Earlier in the month, the court decided to refer the defendant for psychiatric evaluation at a government institution, following a request by his lawyer, who cited the defendant’s behaviour in the court in addition to the testimonies of two of his brothers as a justification.

The court adjourned the session until April 17th to hear more prosecution witnesses in the case.

The prosecution alleges that the suspect considered his mother “his enemy and that she ruined his life, and cut off her head when she returned home from a visit”.

“The suspect bought an axe a few days before the incident and took it to a butcher to sharpen it, telling the owner that his mother wanted the axe to cut meat,” the charge sheet said.

After murdering his mother, the prosecution maintained: “he took out her eyeballs and fled”, the charge sheet added. 

The defendant, who has a criminal record, was reportedly wanted in connection with a number of drug-related cases and was believed to have been using synthetic cannabis, known locally as “joker”.

If convicted of premeditated murder, the suspect could face the death penalty.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the murder charges, but pleaded guilty to possessing a sharp weapon in a previous court session.