54-year-old charged with premeditated murder of his relative

AMMAN — The criminal court prosecutor has charged a 54-year-old man with the premeditated murder of his relative last month, a senior judicial source said on Sunday.

Shadi Farah’s body was found floating in the Mujib Dam on October 17 and coroners established that he died from a single bullet wound to the head.

The 35-year-old had been reported missing by his family five days before his body was discovered.

Criminal Court Prosecutor Tayseer Bani Khaled charged the suspect with premeditated murder last week and ordered his detention at a correctional and rehabilitation centre, the source told The Jordan Times.

“The defendant became the main suspect in the case because he was the last person to be in contact with the victim and at the beginning denied any knowledge of his whereabouts,” the source said. 

But when faced with the evidence, “he confessed to being the last person to see him alive,” the source added.

In his initial confession to the police, the suspect claimed that he went with the victim to the dam for a picnic and that “Farah pulled out a gun and started playing with it,” according to the source.

The suspect told investigators that “a bullet was accidently fired, striking Farah in the head and he fell into the dam,” the source said.

“The suspect said he panicked and decided to leave without informing anyone about the incident,” the source added.

Upon searching the suspect’s home, the source maintained, investigators found a gun that was “later determined to be the murder weapon”.

“The suspect maintained his innocence and expressed regret for not reporting the incident when it happened, insisting that he was shocked and did not know what to do.”

However, the suspect’s family published a notice in a local newspaper on Sunday condemning the “treacherous murder committed by our son I.O. that took the life of Shadi Farah last month”.

The family pledged “not to facilitate the appointment of lawyers to defend the suspect in court”.

Bani Khaled is still questioning friends and relatives of the victim before compiling the case file and sending it to the Criminal Court, according to the judicial source.