Man handed 20 years for murder of Irbid supermarket owner

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a May 2022 Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to 20 years in prison after convicting him of murdering a supermarket owner in Irbid in August 2021.  

The court declared the defendant guilty of bludgeoning the 68-year-old victim to death with an iron bar on August 5 and handed him the maximum punishment for the manslaughter charge. 

Court papers said the defendant became friends with the victim after frequenting his supermarket in downtown Irbid. 

On the day of the incident, the court maintained, the defendant passed by the victim’s house and went for a ride in his vehicle. 

An argument ensued between the two and “the defendant grabbed an iron bar that was in his vehicle and struck the victim repeatedly on his head”, according to court papers. 

“The defendant left the area, returned home, washed the iron bar then asked his son to place the tool near the house’s water tanks,” the court maintained. 

Four days later, the court maintained, “the victim’s body was found by passersby and a probe was launched by the authorities,” the court transcripts stated. 

“Investigators reviewed the cameras that were in the area and concluded that the victim was last seen riding the defendant’s vehicle before disappearing,” the court papers said. 

The defendant was summoned by investigators and confessed to the murder after being faced with the evidence, the court papers added.

“The court also relied on DNA evidence found on the iron bar that was retrieved from the defendant’s house as well as blood traces that belonged to the victim found in the defendant’s vehicle,” the court maintained. 

The defendant did not contest his verdict at a higher court.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Court’s general attorney asked the Court of Cassation to uphold the ruling. 

The higher court ruled that the Criminal Court followed the proper procedure when sentencing and the defendant deserves the verdict he had received.  

The Court of Cassation judges were Mahmoud Ebtoush, Hammad Ghzawi, Nayef Samarat, Qassem Dughmi and Mohammad Khashashneh.