2 toddler sisters stabbed to death, father on the run

AMMAN — Police on Sunday said they were searching for a father who allegedly stabbed his two daughters to death in the Southern Badia earlier in the day, senior official sources said.

The suspect, in his 40s, reportedly stabbed his two daughters, aged two and three, to death while at his home, Police Spokesperson Col. Amer Sartawi said.

“The suspect then fled the scene and we are currently searching for him,” Sartawi told The Jordan Times.

A second senior judicial source told The Jordan Times that the suspect was “a repeat criminal offender who was known to have been involved in vehicle thefts”.

The source said initial investigations indicated that the stabbing occurred “over domestic disputes”.

“Our investigations indicated that the suspect’s wife went back to her family’s home with her two daughters following a domestic dispute,” the senior judicial source said.

On Saturday, the judicial source maintained, the suspect headed to his in-laws’ house and “demanded to take his two daughters and they agreed”.

“Our initial investigations indicate that he went back home, grabbed a knife and slit their throats and left the house,” according to the senior judicial source.

The source added that the neighbours heard screaming and yelling and saw the suspect rushing out of his house.

When they went to check out the matter, the source stated, they “saw the two girls with heavy injuries to their bodies”.

“The neighbours rushed the two girls to a nearby hospital but they were already dead and physicians were unable to help them,” the senior judicial source maintained. 

Head of the National Institute of Forensic Medicine (NIFM) Adnan Abas told The Jordan Times that the victims’ bodies are currently kept at a hospital in Jafr.

“Their bodies are expected to be transported to the NIFM in Aqaba for autopsy,” Abas said.

Criminal Court Prosecutor General Ihsan Salamat dispatched a criminal prosecutor to the Southern Badia to question the victims’ family members, according to the senior judicial source.

“The criminal court prosecutor will question the victims’ mother and grandparents to learn more about the circumstances surrounding the stabbing incident,” the senior judicial source said.