Police identify 2 suspects involved in 2004 cold case

AMMAN — The Criminal Court prosecutor on Thursday began questioning a suspect in connection with a cold case in Balqa Governorate that dates back to 2004, official sources said.

Almost 20 years ago, police found a body stuffed in a large black bag and dumped in a deserted sport in the Ardah area, Police Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi said.

“We received new information about the case that led us to identify the victim, and our Cold Case Unit reopened the file,” Sartawi told The Jordan Times.

Investigators summoned the victim’s family and took DNA samples from them, the police official added.

“DNA tests conducted at the Forensic and Laboratory Department, which is affiliated with the Public Security Department (PSD), confirmed the victim’s identity,” Sartawi said.

As a result, more “relatives and friends of the victim were summoned for questioning”, the police official stated.

Questioning resulted in police determining that the murder was likely committed by two people, including a suspect who left the country, according to Sartawi.

“We arrested one man who testified that he helped the main suspect — who remains at large — move the body to where it was later discovered,” Sartawi maintained.

The suspect in custody claimed that the other man involved had murdered the victim following “a heated argument” and later left the country, the police official stated.

Police forces released the suspect’s name to Interpol in order to return the man to Jordan to face justice, according to a statement by the PSD.

Meanwhile, a senior judicial source told The Jordan Times that Criminal Court Prosecutor Ishaq Abu Awad charged the suspected accomplice with incitement and complicity in the murder.

Abu Awad ordered that the suspect be detained at a correctional and rehabilitation centre for 15 days pending further investigation into the incident, the senior judicial source added.