Son who allegedly decapitated mother faces verdict Tuesday

AMMAN — The Criminal Court is expected on Tuesday to issue its verdict for a 29-year-old man, who is standing trial for allegedly murdering and decapitating his mother in the capital’s Tabarbour area in November 2016, his lawyer said on Wednesday.

The tribunal had referred the defendant to a government institution for mental evaluation in 2017, based on a request by his lawyer, Fdayel Abbadi following the defendant’s behaviour in previous court sessions and after hearing the testimonies from two of his brothers.

The defendant had previously climbed up the bars of his cell, and started making strange noises and uttering words that could not be understood.

However, on Tuesday the court held a session after receiving a report from the National Institute of Psychiatric Medicine (NIPM), stating that "the defendant did not suffer from any mental problems", Abbadi told The Jordan Times.

"The NIPM ruled that my client was sane and fit to stand trial," Abbadi said.

The court adjourned until next Tuesday "when it is expected to issue a verdict", according to Abbadi.

During previous court hearings, some of the defendant’s siblings testified that “the defendant is a drug addict and would often behave in a strange way”.

The witnesses told the court that their mother, the victim, “took the defendant to a sheikh to see if he was possessed by a demon”.

On another occasion, the witnesses told the court, the defendant was sent by his family to a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts “where he spent 21 days”.

A final attempt was made by the victim and the witnesses to take the defendant to the NIPM, “but the attending physicians there refused to receive him, saying there was no need”, the two siblings told the court.

The prosecution alleges that on November 3, the suspect, who allegedly thought his mother was “his enemy and that she ruined his life; cut off her head when she returned home from a visit”.

“The suspect bought an axe a few days before the incident and took it to a butcher to sharpen it, telling the owner that his mother wanted the axe to cut meat,” the charge sheet said.

After murdering his mother, the prosecution maintained, “he gouged out her eyeballs and fled”, the documents added. 

The defendant, who has a criminal record, was reportedly wanted in connection with a number of drug-related cases and was believed to have been using synthetic cannabis (also known as “joker”).

If convicted of premeditated murder, the defendant could face the death penalty.

The defendant pleaded not guilty to the murder charges, but pleaded guilty to possessing a sharp weapon in a previous court session.