Criminal Court hands man death penalty for murdering wife

AMMAN — The Criminal Court on Thursday sentenced a 55-year-old man to death after convicting him of murdering his wife over finance and custody matters in Zarqa in April of last year.

The defendant was declared guilty of stabbing the 33-year-old victim to death on April 4 and was handed the maximum punishment.

“The defendant stood motionless upon hearing his conviction verdict,” a senior judicial source told The Jordan Times.

Court documents said the defendant was married to the victim for eight years and that the wife returned to her family’s home two days before the incident following marital disputes.

“The suspect decided to divorce his wife and asked her to wave all her rights, including custody over their son and an apartment that was registered in her name,” according to court documents.

The victim refused, the court maintained, and went to her family’s home.

Two days later, the court continued, the suspect “plotted to kill his wife so he headed to his in-laws’ house to discuss the stalled matter again and he stabbed her to death”.

The defendant fled the scene, while his wife was rushed to a nearby hospital where she died the following day as a result of heavy bleeding, according to court documents.

The defendant’s family turned their son in “upon learning that he was the prime suspect in the incident”, the court stated.

Criminal Court Prosecutor Jawaher Jbour asked the court to inflict the maximum punishment on the defendant.

The tribunal was presided over by Judge Ibrahim Abu Shama and included judges Anwar Abu Eid and Tareq Rashid.

Thursday’s verdict will automatically be reviewed by the Court of Cassation within the next 30 days.