JEDDAH — A man who allegedly murdered his wife on the eve of Ramadan in Jeddah's Al-Bawadi neighborhood claimed he had “unfinished business” with her that was only resolved by killing her. He locked his aunt in a room but she was found unharmed. During questioning at Al-Nuzhah police station, the man said he did not know why he killed his wife, except that he was experiencing a psychological problem. He said that before committing his crime, he went to the imam of a nearby mosque to seek help for the problems he was having with his wife.
The criminal said the imam was occupied with the prayers and asked him to return when he was less busy. The imam tried in vain to calm the man down and encourage him to pray, but he left the mosque and began plotting his crime, said police. Police said after he killed his wife he went outside yelling that his problems were over. The man said that he was unaware of the number of stab wounds on his wife's body. Preliminary investigations show that the woman had been stabbed multiple times. The couple lived on the ground floor of a three-story apartment building. There were bloodstains on the victim's bed, in the main hall of the apartment, and on the refrigerator. The husband had planned to cover his tracks by burning the house down, in an apparent attempt to copy another murder two months ago when a man murdered his wife, burned the house and committed suicide. Jeddah police spokesman First Lt. Nawwaf Al-Bouq said when police attended the apartment the doors were locked and the Civil Defense were called to break down the door. He said the Civil Defense also dealt with the small fire that the culprit started and found the body of the wife. Jeddah police referred the case to the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution for further action.
