UAE | Crime
Missing South African woman Kerry Winter is dead
The main suspect in the Kerry Winter case has told police that she was dead in the car while with him but has not confessed to murdering her, Gulf News has learned.
- By Bassam Za'za', Senior Reporter and Alia Al Theeb, Staff Reporter
- Published: 11:06 September 17, 2008
- Image Credit: Gulf News Archive
- 35-year-old Kerry Winter was last seen on August 20
Dubai: A British suspect has denied that he intentionally killed Kerry Winter although he admitted that he hit her with a stick and discovered that she died three hours later, senior public prosecutors revealed on Wednesday.
“The British suspect, M.A., has not confessed to premeditatedly killing Kerry Winter since he was detained for questioning last month… besides Dubai Police referred the suspect to the Public Prosecution facing charges of kidnap and assault. He has not been charged with premeditated murder yet,'' Sami Al Shamsi, Head of Bur Dubai Public Prosecution, told a media gathering.
Meanwhile Senior Public Prosecutor Ahmad Eisa Al Adhab, who is currently questioning M.A. in Kerry's case, said: “He admitted that he beat the South African woman with a 30-cm stick and he discovered that she was dead three hours later… he said that she sustained a wound in her head and that he only assaulted her.''
Al Shamsi and Al Adhab stressed that M.A. didn't admit killing the woman and explained that the investigation continues and there are certain details that could not be revealed to maintain the confidentiality of the investigation.
“The body hasn't been recovered yet although the suspect claimed that he placed it in two different places… first he claimed he put it in the desert but law enforcement officers didn't find anything. Secondly, he claimed that he dumped the body in the sea, but his claims also weren't true because the body hasn't been found,'' said Al Adhab.
He said that until the current stage of investigations, it is believed that the suspect assaulted Kerry due to personal and emotional problems.
Dubai police confirmed that the suspect didn't confess to killing Kerry but claimed that she was dead in the car while with him. Police officers are still searching for the body of Kerry who was last spotted on August 20.
Meanwhile, Senior Public Prosecutor Ahmad Al Hammadi announced that M.A. has been charged with endangering the life of a Lebanese national, Z.T., (who lives in the same villa with Kerry and allegedly heard her cries for help when she was reportedly being beaten by M.A.) and he will be prosecuted before the Dubai Court of Misdemeanours this month.
“This case revealed Kerry's disappearance… what happened was that the Lebanese heard her cries. When he peeped out of the Arabic villa's main door to check what happened, he saw her lying on the ground, bleeding from her head. When I questioned Z.T. he claimed that the Briton attacked him with the stick but missed him… he alleged that he returned to his room. The Lebanese and his Egyptian neighbour contacted the police who explained to Z.T. that he has the right to sue M.A. for endangering his life.''
Senior Public Prosecutor Ammar Al Marzouqi said M.A. had earlier accused Kerry of stealing his laptop, a cheque worth Dh25,000 and some of his jewellery.
“She was detained for sometime until the Public Prosecution discharged her after the Briton waived his complaint and for lack of strong evidence… he handed us the waiver after she reportedly returned the cheque,'' said Al Marzouqi.
The investigation continues and the Public Prosecution hasn't charged him yet. “We are still waiting for more investigation reports and more prosecution witnesses will be summoned to hear their statements,'' concluded Al Shamsi.
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