Man charged with premeditated murder in burning death of wife

AMMAN — The Criminal Court prosecutor on Saturday charged a man with the premeditated murder of his wife, who recently died in hospital suffering from third degree burns in Amman, official sources said.

The victim was reportedly torched by her husband following a domestic dispute on September 6, Police Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi said last week.

The victim was rushed to hospital and remained in the intensive care unit, suffering from burns to most parts of her body, according to Sartawi.

“We were able to question the victim two days before she died and she claimed that her husband set her on fire,” a senior judicial source told The Jordan Times.

Meanwhile, the senior judicial source added that the husband claimed that “his wife set herself on fire following a domestic dispute”.

“We are currently questioning family members to learn more about the incident,” the senior judicial source added.

A second official source told The Jordan Times that the victim sustained over 70 per cent burns to different parts of her body.

“The victim dies of blood poisoning that resulted from the burns that covered most of her body and some vital organs,” the second official source said.

The Criminal Court prosecutor ordered the suspect to remain in custody pending further investigations into the incident, according to the senior judicial source.

Sartawi had told The Jordan Times that based on police records, “The victim did not file any domestic complaints against her husband in the past nor had a file at the Family Protection Department.”

Solidarity Is Global Institute (SIGI), a local women’s organisation, issued a statement last week condemning the death of the woman.

The SIGI statement said that the 28-year-old victim was a mother of three children and was allegedly set on fire by her husband using kerosene.

SIGI also quoted what the woman reportedly wrote on her Facebook page shortly before dying saying: “I thought my husband was going to change my life, but he actually erased all my life.”