Man sentenced to death for murdering 77-year-old employer

AMMAN — The Criminal Court on Monday sentenced a 24-year-old man to death after convicting him of robbing and murdering a 77-year-old man in his farm in Irbid in January 2015.

The court declared the defendant guilty of charges of murder to facilitate a robbery on January 4, and handed him the maximum punishment.

“The defendant stood motionless and did not utter a word upon hearing his conviction verdict read out by the presiding judge,” a senior judicial source said.

Court papers said the defendant was working for the victim at his farm in Bani Kinanah district, located 80km north of Amman.

“The defendant needed cash and decided to rob the victim,” the court verdict stated.

The young man “struck the man with a blunt object then placed a pillow over his face until he made sure he was dead”, the court verdict said.

The defendant then stole the victim’s pickup truck from the ranch which he later abandoned, according to court documents. 

The court relied on the defendant’s confessions as well as witnesses who saw him driving the victim’s vehicle on the day of the incident.

Court-appointed lawyer Fdayel Abbadi said that he plans to appeal the verdict at the Cassation Court, which is expected to start reviewing the case in the next 30 days.

The victim was found dead in the farm by one of his relatives and coroners later established that he suffered from several bruises on the head. The government autopsy concluded that the victim died of suffocation.

 “My client stated in court that he did not intend to kill the victim and that he just pushed him away following an altercation and he died after falling on the pillow,” Abbadi told The Jordan Times.

The plot factor “does not exist in this case and I will ask the higher court to reduce the sentence since stealing a car is a misdemeanour and not a crime. This  means that the capital punishment is not applicable in this case”, Abbadi added.

The Criminal Court tribunal comprised of judges Azzam Najdawi, Nayel Omoush and Hassan Majali. 

The Criminal Court Prosecutor Issam Haddid asked the court to inflict the maximum punishment on the defendant.