Man arrested for alleged murder of sister in cold case

AMMAN – The Criminal Court prosecutor on Tuesday began questioning a man who allegedly murdered his sister almost two decades ago in Amman, official sources said.

The alleged 2003 murder was exposed by a special police taskforce that was formed to follow up on cold cases, Police Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi said.

 “The cold case unit officers reopened a 2003 case of a woman who was found murdered, chained and placed in an iron barrel in Sweileh,” Sartawi told The Jordan Times.

The barrel was placed under a water tunnel, the police official added.

“Investigators then were able to identify the woman, but had no suspects,” according to Sartawi.

When the case was reopened by the Cold Case Unit, Sartawi added, the victim’s family members were summoned for questioning and investigators concluded that two of her brothers “were the main suspects in her murder”.

“One of the suspects eventually confessed to murdering his sister with the help of a second brother who is outside the country over personal matters,” Sartawi stated.

The brother reportedly told the Cold Case Unit investigators that “they took their sister to a deserted area and forced her to consume a large number of illicit drugs until they made sure she was dead then placed her in a barrel and left,” the police official said.

Police said Interpol was notified about the second brother who remains at large outside the Kingdom, according to a Public Security Department statement.

The Criminal Court prosecutor ordered that the suspect be detained at a correctional and rehabilitation centre for 15 days pending further investigation, a senior judicial source told The Jordan Times.