AMMAN, 31 May 2008 — Jordanian police have arrested a 35-year-old man who confessed to six murders, including three of his children, the Public Security Department spokesman Maj. Mohammad Khatib said yesterday.
The suspect, whose identity has been withheld pending the completion of investigations, “confessed, re-enacted the murders and directed us to the weapon used in the murder,” he added.
The victims included the suspect’s three children, with ages ranging between 5 and 8 years, who were found stabbed to death in two rooms of their house at town of Abu Alanda, 30 kilometers east of Amman.
The other three victims were the wife of the suspect’s neighbor and her two children aging 2 and 3 years, who were stabbed in their own house which is adjacent to the suspect’s home.
Criminal prosecutor Tareq Shuqeirat said that the authorities were unable so far to determine the exact reason behind these gruesome murders, which has shocked the Jordanian society.
However, preliminary reports indicated that differences between the suspect and his wife were the reason that prompted the man to commit his crimes. His wife was at her family’s home when the murders occurred, police sources said.
The suspect apparently targeted the wife of his neighbor because she used to report the suspect’s beating of his children to their mother, the sources added.
Other sources suggested that the suspect tried to sexually assault the wife of his neighbor during his absence but failed, so he decided to kill everyone so the matter would not be exposed.
He was arrested after his current wife tipped off police about the murders and he admitted under questioning to carrying out the killings, the source added.
The suspect faces the death penalty if convicted. He has been remanded in custody for 15 days, after which a formal indictment and trial date are expected to be announced.
