Man charged with pushing friend off cliff

AMMAN — The Criminal Court prosecutor on Sunday charged a 26-year-old man with allegedly murdering his friend by pushing him off a cliff at a quarry in Amman the day before, official sources said.

The 20-year-old victim was first believed to have died after falling off a cliff at the quarries area in Jabal Natheef suburb in Amman on Saturday night, according to a statement by the Public Security Department (PSD).

However, a special team formed to investigate the alleged fall indicated that foul play  was involved in the incident, the PSD statement added.

“Police became suspicious with one of the victim’s close friends who had previous criminal record and was with the victim before he died.  He later confessed in front of the police, saying he killed him for personal reasons,” the PSD statement added.

Criminal Court Prosecutor Tayseer Bani Khalid charged the suspect with premeditated murder, a senior judicial source said.

“Bani Khalid is still questioning the suspect and other witnesses to learn more about the motives behind the killing,” the judicial source told The Jordan Times.

The suspect reportedly confessed in front of the police only to “luring his friend to the quarries area where he pushed him down the hill and left him to die”.

The suspect had allegedly mentioned that “he murdered his friend in front of his family members”, according to the source.

Bani Khalid ordered that blood and tissue sample taken from the victim be sent to the criminal lab for further analysis.

The Criminal Court prosecutor ordered the suspect to remain in custody to hear more prosecution witnesses and examine the evidence found at the scene, the judicial source added.