Two women arrested for Amman ‘double homicide’

AMMAN — Police on Wednesday announced the arrest of two women in connection with the murder of a 72-year-old man and his Filipina domestic helper at their home in a west Amman suburb on Sunday night, official sources said.

The two victims were discovered by firefighters who were called to extinguish a blaze at around 9:30pm, which had broken out in the apartment on Medina Munwara Street on February 5.

“Our thorough investigation and examination of the crime scene led us to two women, and we discovered they were in Zarqa,” Public Security Department Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi told The Jordan Times.

A special task force was sent to Zarqa, some 22km northeast of Amman, and arrested the two women, the police official added.

In their initial confessions, the two women said they saw an ad in the newspaper that was placed by the victim who wanted a domestic helper, according to a statement by the Public Security Department.

The two women headed to the victim’s house, and while discussing the matter, “an argument ensued, and the two attacked the victims with a blunt object”, the PSD statement added.

“The two stole JD800, and attempted to open a safe in the house but failed, so they set the apartment ablaze and fled,” the statement added.

The apartment where the double homicide occurred is located in a four-storey building on the main thoroughfare, next to a busy clinic.

Meanwhile, an official at the embassy of the Philippines in Amman refused to comment on the incident when contacted by The Jordan Times on Wednesday.

“We prefer not to say anything at this point,” the official said.

A government autopsy at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine indicated that both victims died of heavy blows to the head with a blunt object and that they were dead before the fire broke out.

The autopsy also indicated that the Filipina, aged 34, was also stabbed once in the back.