25-year-old man charged with manslaughter in stabbing death of his sister

AMMAN — The criminal court prosecutor on Wednesday charged a 25-year-old man with manslaughter in connection with the stabbing death of his older, divorced sister for reasons related to family honour late Monday night, according to official sources.

The 27-year-old mother of two children reportedly received around 20 stab wounds to different parts of her body, reportedly inflicted by her brother at her home in Balqa Governorate, a senior judicial source said.

The suspect then headed to the nearest police station, turned himself in and handed the knife that was allegedly used in the stabbing incident to the officer on duty, the source told The Jordan Times.

In his initial confessions to the police and Criminal Court Prosecutor Salah Taleb, the suspect claimed that his sister had gone missing from home after being divorced from her husband.

The suspect claimed that his sister showed up at his house on Saturday and informed him that she "had reunited with her husband in the West Bank and was living there during the past four years".

"The suspect asked to see her passport to make sure she was telling the truth, but she said it was confiscated by the authorities," the source said, quoting the brother's initial testimony.

On the day of the incident, the suspect returned home from work and "questioned his sister again about her whereabouts and she told him a different story, which angered him so he grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed her to death", the source added.

A second source told The Jordan Times that coroners detected several defence wounds on the victim.

"The victim had around 15 stab wounds on different parts of her body and five more on her arms, which coroners determined were defence wounds," the source said.

Taleb issued orders for the suspect to be detained at Salt Detention Centre for 15 days pending further investigation and questioning.