According to Maj. Abdul Muhsin Al-Mayman, spokesman for Makkah police, officers received a phone call from the maid's employer reporting the victim unconscious.

When police arrived at his residence in Al-Mansour district, they found the maid’s body in the bathroom. Forensic examinations determined that the maid died as a result of violence and vicious beatings.

Sources close to the case told Arab News that the woman in the household was suffering from a mental illness and that she stayed away from family gatherings. Police suspect that her psychological problems might have been behind the maid’s murder.

During investigations, the woman's husband insisted that he was the one responsible for the murder. But the woman contradicted him by saying she murdered the maid.

Police believe the husband might have been trying to free his wife of responsibility so she could look after the children.

The husband contacted his family to ask for forgiveness for what he did. In case the husband was found guilty in court, the victim’s family can exercise their private right for his execution or agree to drop the case in exchange for blood money. In case the private right was not exercised, the husband could face a jail sentence of between five to 15 years.

Dr. Rajab Bersali, a psychiatrist at Hira Mental Hospital in Makkah, said that if the wife was found guilty of murder and that medical and psychological evidence proved that she was not aware of what she was doing at the time of the murder, then this would ease criminal charges against her and might lead to the private right being dropped.

If however, it were proven the wife was suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression or taking drugs at the time, then she would not be excused.