Man reportedly confesses to killing his 9-month pregnant wife, 4-year-old son

AMMAN — A man reportedly confessed on Sunday to stabbing and killing his 21-year-old pregnant wife and four-year-old son in Balqa Governorate earlier in the day, official sources said.

The victim and her four-year-old son reportedly received multiple stab wounds to different parts of their bodies while at their home in Baqaa refugee camp on Sunday morning, Police Spokesperson Lt. Gen. Amer Sartawi said.

A few hours later, Sartawi told The Jordan Times that investigators had zeroed in on the suspect and summoned him for questioning.

“The suspect, a military personnel, first called one of his relatives while crying and claimed that his pregnant wife and child were murdered by an unknown person,” a senior judicial source told The Jordan Times.

However, police did not believe his story and questioned him about the incident, and “he eventually confessed”, the senior judicial source said.

The suspect was referred to a military prosecutor for a second questioning and he reportedly confessed to “murdering his wife and child over marital problems”, the senior judicial source added.

“The prosecution is currently questioning the victims’ family members and relatives to learn more about the circumstances surrounding the incident,” the second source said.

Forensic expert Wael Hiyasat initially examined the bodies at the crime scene. Later, the prosecutor ordered the transfer of the bodies to the National Institute for Forensic Medicine in Amman for autopsy, the second source said.

The autopsy revealed that the victim was nine-month pregnant, a senior medical source told The Jordan Times.

“The stab wounds were deep and targeted the victims’ neck and chest,” the medical source said, adding that the weapon was most likely a “kitchen knife”.

However, investigators were unable to retrieve any weapon from the crime scene, the medical source said.

“The circumstances surrounding the murders remain unclear to investigators and they will continue questioning the suspect to learn more about the motive behind murdering his family,” the second source said.