JEDDAH, 6 November 2006 — The prime suspect in the murder of an Indian shop employee last Tuesday has been declared innocent. DNA tests of the bloodstains on the suspect’s clothing did not match the blood of the murdered man, according to a police source.
Indian worker Biran Koya was stabbed 17 times when an unidentified man with a knife walked into the Al-Hanan Stationery Shop on Kilo 3, Old Makkah Road, during the noon prayer. Police apprehended the Saudi in the area with bloodstains on his clothes.
“Before the DNA tests, we had eliminated him as a prime suspect and the DNA tests were a double confirmation. There was evidence that led us to believe him innocent,” a police official explained. He did not elaborate on what that evidence was due to the ongoing investigation directed by Jeddah Police Chief, Brig. Misfer Al-Zuhami.
The police have confirmed that they are investigating a number of other suspects. Though preliminary investigations indicated a robbery that went wrong, police have not ruled out that the victim may have known the murderer.
On the day of the murder police questioned the victim’s relatives and friends in their search for the killer.
The murder in broad daylight of the 40-year-old father of three has shocked people in the densely populated neighborhood. They were incredulous that such a murder could happen at midday in one of Jeddah’s busiest streets.
The stationery shop is located in a building that is part of a group of identical massive apartment complexes. Hundreds of people live in the buildings and they have expressed their fears and worries.
Abdul Rahman Al-Harbi, a father of four, said he and his wife are becoming more cautious about letting their children out without parental supervision. “Such crimes are new to our society. We read about them often in our newspapers these days. We need to understand what causes these crimes in order to solve the problem before it worsens,” he said.
