Security guard charged with attempted murder of his teenage daughter

AMMAN — The criminal court prosecutor on Sunday charged a 46-year-old security guard with the attempted murder of his teenage daughter in an Amman neighbourhood a day earlier, police and official sources said.

The 13-year-old victim, who could not be identified because of her age, received burns over 70 per cent of her body after her father reportedly set her ablaze at their home in Jabal Qusour, a senior judicial source said.

The suspect allegedly ran away from his house and was later arrested by the police, Public Security Department Spokesperson Lt. Col. Amer Sartawi told The Jordan Times.

In his initial testimony in front of Criminal Court Prosecutor Salah Taleb, the suspect claimed that he had no intention of murdering his daughter, according to the judicial source.

The suspect claimed that his daughter went missing from home for a few hours and “when she returned he slapped her on the face to discipline her and she fell on the kerosene heater and her body caught fire,” the judicial source said.

The suspect claimed that he wrapped her in a blanket in an attempt to extinguish the fire and that “his brothers who lived in the same building rushed to help him,” the judicial source added.

However, a senior official source told The Jordan Times that the victim told police in hospital before her condition deteriorated that “her father set her ablaze.”

“The criminal prosecutor is still unable to take the victim’s testimony because her condition is critical and deteriorating,” the official source said.

He added that Taleb issued orders to summon the suspect’s brothers to verify his story.

“The witnesses will help the investigators determine whether the suspect intentionally set his daughter on fire or if it was accidental,” the source noted.

The judicial source said the suspect informed investigators that he was tried and acquitted at the Criminal Court in 2008 on charges of burning and killing another daughter.

“Saleh will review the old case to verify the suspect’s claims and also check his record to determine if he had previous convictions or other violations,” the judicial source added. 

The security guard had divorced his wife and the only other resident in their house is his only son, according to Sartawi.

"The 16-year-old son was not at home when the incident occurred," he added. 

Kais Koussous, head of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine, told The Jordan Times that the woman was referred to Prince Hamzeh Hospital and is listed in critical condition.

“Usually burns on over 40 per cent of the body for someone the victim’s age constitute a grave threat to their life,” Koussous said.

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