Dutch teacher under interrogation in Dubai over alleged murder of French national

Dubai prosecutors are continuing their interrogation of a 30-year-old Dutch private teacher accused of involvement in the death of a French man she had been tutoring in English.

The victim, a French national, believed to be in his 30s, was reported missing by his mother at Al Barsha Police Station on December 19, 2024.

Police discovered his body later that day at his Palm Jumeirah villa, three days after the alleged incident.

He was found with several injuries to his head.

The defendant, who is married to an Emirati man and has lived in the UAE, has denied all charges, repeatedly telling investigators, “I am not guilty,” and responding with “I don’t know” to many of the questions put to her.

According to prosecutors, forensic examinations suggested that the victim had been struck on the head with a metal figurine shaped like a seated person.

Experts stated that metallic fragments found at the crime scene and in the victim’s, skull matched the figurine. Surveillance footage reviewed by police showed the woman arriving at the victim’s villa at around 2pm on December 16 and leaving at 6:38pm, a longer stay than her previous visits which typically lasted two hours.

Investigators noted that the villa’s lights remained switched off in the days that followed.

The prosecution also said that during the course of their inquiries, they found traces that could connect the woman to the crime scene, including a stain of the victim’s blood in her vehicle, a glove discovered at the villa containing her DNA, and a blooded footprint beneath a carpet that they said matched her.

They added that a cloth marked with the victim’s blood was recovered from her mother’s residence in Dubai Marina.

The defendant denied knowing about any of these items, insisting that her frequent visits to the villa explained her presence there and that other forensic interpretations were not accurate.

She was also questioned about searches on her phone related to sedative medicines, scratches on her hands, and a bruise on her arm which forensic specialists said were consistent with physical struggle.

She maintained that her skin is sensitive and prone to marks, and that the scratches could have come from a pet. When asked about the bruise, she did not accept that it was linked to the allegations against her.

Throughout the questioning, the defendant said that she had been teaching the victim English for about a year and a half, with four lessons a week, and explained that her last lesson on the day of the incident was longer because the victim told her he was preparing to travel.

Her husband, a 37-year-old Emirati, told investigators that his wife speaks Spanish and Portuguese and teaches languages to others, but that he did not know she was giving lessons to the French man.

He described her as “a very kind and generous person and never an aggressive one.”

The victim’s girlfriend, aged 32, meanwhile told police that she suspected the victim had a close relationship with the defendant.

The defendant, represented by Awatif Mohammad Shoqi Advocates & Legal Consultancy, was arrested from her residence in Sharjah on December 20, 2024. She continues to deny the charges as investigations by the Dubai Public Prosecution proceed.

When approached for comment, Dr Hasan Elhais from Awatif Mohammad Shoqi Advocates & Legal Consultancy, said: “The investigation is still ongoing, and it is important to allow the legal process to take its full course.

“At this stage, it would not be appropriate to make assumptions or draw conclusions before all evidence is tested before the proper judicial authorities,” he said.