Man gets 20 years in jail for murdering wife, attempt on lives of daughters

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld an October Criminal Court ruling sentencing a man to 20 years in prison after convicting him of murdering his wife and attempting to murder two of his daughters in April 2017.

The court declared the defendant guilty of stabbing and killing his wife and attempting to murder his two daughters aged 14 and 15 on April 29 and handed him the maximum punishment.

Court documents said the couple had been married since 2001 and had four daughters.

On the day of the incident, the court maintained, the "defendant consumed alcohol and returned home with an alcohol bottle".

"The minute he saw one of his daughters he stabbed her in the arm, then he went to one of the rooms and stabbed his second daughter," court papers said.

 The victim rushed to save her daughters, the court maintained, so the defendant stabbed her in the waist and arm.

"The victim brought bandages and started helping her daughters while she herself was injured," court papers added.

 However, the defendant followed her and stabbed her in the neck and shoulder.

"The defendant started dancing and singing then cursing himself for his actions and decided to rush his wife to the hospital," court documents added.

The defendant did not contest the court ruling.

Meanwhile, the Criminal Court’s attorney general asked the higher court to uphold the ruling since the “punishment was appropriate and the verdict was correct”.

The higher court ruled that the Criminal Court followed the proper procedures when sentencing the defendant, and that he deserved the verdict he received. 

The Court of Cassation bench comprises judges Mohammad Ibrahim, Naji Zu’bi, Yassin Abdullat, Nayef Samarat and Hammad Ghzawi.