Treasure hunt turns deadly as man held for premeditated murder

AMMAN — The Criminal Court prosecutor on Saturday charged a 35-year-old man with the premeditated murder of his friend, who has been reported missing since February and was found buried in the basement of a house in Amman, official sources said.

The victim was reported missing by his family, who resided in Zuhour neighbourhood, on February 7, Police Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi said.

“A special force was tasked with the mission of finding the missing person and zeroed in on the suspect who was one of the last people to see the victim alive,” Sartawi told The Jordan Times.

The suspect and the victim were allegedly involved in a treasure hunt and dug an eight-metre-deep hole at a rented house for the excavation, a senior judicial source said.

In his initial testimony to police and Criminal Court Prosecutor Ahmad Kanani, the suspect claimed that he murdered his friend over a dispute, according to the senior judicial source.

A few days before the incident, the suspect and the victim allegedly had an argument over personal matters, the source said, adding that on the day of the incident “the suspect lured the victim, then stabbed and strangled him before burying the body”.

The suspect told investigators that “he buried the victim in an open hole in the ground that they dug together looking for treasures in a house in Nuzha suburb”, the judicial source told The Jordan Times.

Kanani ordered that the suspect be detained at a correctional and rehabilitation centre for 15 days pending further investigation.

“Kanani is expected to summon several witnesses in the case, including the victim’s family for questioning,” the judicial source said.