JEDDAH, 24 March 2008 — In a shocking incident that has horrified residents of a Jeddah suburb, a Syrian mother strangled her "beautiful" three-year-old daughter yesterday. The incident took place at an apartment close to Al-Nazawi supermarket on Al-Imam Abdul Aziz Street in the Faisaliah district. Locals told Arab News that the mother of two has been taken into custody for questioning.

"While police were taking her away she uttered under her breath, 'I was waiting for this day to come.' There was no sign of remorse or regret on her face. I think she's either mentally unsound or had premeditated the killing," said a man who resides in the same building.

Another neighbor said the woman appeared calm when the police officers arrived on the site. However, when a female officer asked her to cover her face she refused. "No, I'm all right. I will not cover my face," the woman told the officer in a firm voice, the neighbor said.

The deceased toddler's paternal uncle, looking shocked, told Arab News, "I can just tell you that she killed her own baby around noon." He refused to divulge further details.

Residents living close by said that the accused and her husband, both in their 30s, are from an affluent background. The couple seemed to be happily married but they had petty squabbles. They added that child's father is an engineer working for a Jeddah-based company.

The neighbors were, however, not in a position to comment on the possible motive behind the killing.

Another neighbor observed that the woman appeared normal and seemed very fond of her children. "I always used to see her coming to the neighborhood baqala (shop) with her children and I never had an inkling that she had any serious domestic problem that would compel her to take this extreme step," the man added.

A police officer at the site of the crime told Arab News that the woman was "hysterical." He noted that the couple had been quarreling for sometime.

This is the second child murder by a relative in Jeddah this month. On March 2, a Syrian man decapitated his 15-month-old nephew in full view of shoppers and staff at Al-Marhaba supermarket on Sari Street.

The man, who was the victim's maternal uncle, apparently killed the boy following a custody battle between his sister and her estranged husband.