Missing retired officer found dead in Irbid; police rule out foul play

AMMAN — An Irbid resident, who went missing on August 5, was found dead on Friday in a deserted area some 40 kilometres away from his home, official sources said Saturday.

Retired Police Major Hussam Obeidat, 47, a resident of Hartha town in Irbid, 80km north of Amman, was supposed to meet his wife at a hospital at 1pm on August 5 but never showed up, according to relatives.

Police launched a wide-scale search using the canine unit in different parts of the governorate for almost two weeks but failed to find him.

On Friday, a police search team located a decomposing body and summoned Obeidat’s relatives who positively identified him, a senior official source told The Jordan Times.

“Investigators and coroners were called to the scene and found a bag filled with clothes and a poisonous substance,” the source added.

Public Security Department Spokesperson Maj. Amer Sartawi ruled out foul play.

“We are still investigating the incident and have ruled out homicide,” Sartawi told The Jordan Times.

A postmortem conducted by Pathologist Ali Shotar of Irbid’s National Institute of Forensic Medicine also ruled out homicide, a medical source said.

The pathologist estimated that Obeidat has been dead for at least 10 days, the medical source told The Jordan Times.

“Shotar examined the body and did not detect any fractures or bullet wounds, and concluded that it is not a homicide,” the medical source added.

The pathologist sent blood and tissue samples to the criminal lab for further analysis, he said, adding that police did not find any note on the victim.

Sartawi said police are still investigating the incident.