‘Suspect confesses to murdering 77-year-old in Irbid’

AMMAN — Police are questioning a young man who allegedly robbed and murdered a 77-year-old man on his farm in Irbid over the weekend, official sources said.

The victim, Quteibah Laham, was found dead at his farm in Bani Kinanah District by one of his relatives, a senior official source said.

Coroners who rushed to the farm in Irbid Governorate, 80km north of Amman, detected several bruises on the victim’s head, the source added.

After examining the scene and interviewing witnesses and relatives of the victim, police concluded that a former employee at the farm was the perpetrator, the source explained.

Police summoned the 22-year-old suspect who reportedly confessed to committing the murder, according to the source.

In his initial confession to investigators, the suspect said he wanted to rob and kill the victim because he needed cash, the source said.

Public Security Department Spokesperson Maj. Amer Sartawi confirmed that the suspect had stolen the victim's pickup truck from the ranch. 

A team of government pathologists headed by Ali Shotar performed an autopsy on Saturday and determined that the victim died of suffocation, a medical source said.

“The pathologists detected bruises on the victim’s nose and ligature marks on his neck and established that he was strangled,” the medical source told The Jordan Times.

The victim also had multiple bruises on his head that were inflicted by a blunt object.