By Rana Husseini

AMMAN - Criminal Prosecutor Jehad Duradi has charged a Jordanian teenager with the premeditated murder of his older sister, official sources said on Monday.

The 18-year-old suspect reportedly confessed to stabbing his sister to death for reasons related to family honour shortly after she was released from the governor's office on Sunday, a source told The Jordan Times.

The suspect also told investigators he turned himself in at the nearest police station and gave authorities the knife that was allegedly used to kill his 21-year-old sibling, the source added.

In his initial testimony, the teenager said he killed his sister because she would often leave their family home in one of the Kingdom's governorates and go to an unknown destination, the source said.

According to the source, the last time the victim disappeared, some two months ago, she was briefly detained by authorities for her safety until one of her male relatives bailed her out on Sunday.

"The suspect claimed he saw his sister in a car with the relative, followed her home, entered her room and without uttering a word, stabbed his sister to death," the source said.

A second source told The Jordan Times the victim received 10 stab wounds to the chest and stomach, based on an official government autopsy conducted at the National Institute of Forensic Medicine.

The autopsy also revealed that the victim was not sexually active. Pathologists have sent blood and tissue samples taken from the victim's body to the criminal lab for further analysis, the source added.

Duradi ordered the suspect detained for 14 days at a rehabilitation centre pending further investigation into the case.

The victim marked the eighth person reportedly murdered in the name of family honour in Jordan this year.

Last year, 18 persons were reportedly murdered in Jordan in so-called honour crimes, according to official figures.

Globally, the UN estimates that around 5,000 women are killed every year for reasons related to family honour.