Dubai Court upholds death sentence for Arab man who murdered European ex-girlfriend

Dubai: A young Arab man who stalked and killed his European ex-girlfriend in a Dubai apartment building stairwell has had his death sentence upheld by the emirate’s Court of Appeal, which ruled the attack was carried out with premeditation and intent.

According to court records, the 16 July 2020 attack took place in a residential building in Dubai, where the defendant lay in wait for the 24-year-old woman near her apartment. 

Armed with a knife and other tools he had purchased in advance, prosecutors said he dragged her into a stairwell, slit her throat, and inflicted multiple fatal wounds after she rejected his attempts at reconciliation.

An eyewitness security guard told investigators that he was alerted by a resident about a disturbance on the seventh floor. When he arrived, he discovered blood near the stairwell. Unable to access the door, he went up another level and found the victim lying in a pool of blood. Emergency services were called, but she was pronounced dead at the scene.

CCTV footage and forensic evidence quickly led police to the accused, who fled the building after the attack, changed clothes at a friend’s residence, and attempted to escape to another emirate. He was apprehended hours later near a shopping center.

During interrogation, the man confessed to a relationship with the victim that began in 2017. He admitted to becoming increasingly controlling and obsessive, following her movements online and threatening her after she tried to break off their relationship. 

Court documents show that he even lent her Dh30,000 after she returned to Dubai in 2019, deepening his resentment when she later began a relationship with another man.

The judges concluded that the killing was carried out with premeditation and intent, noting that the defendant had armed himself with a knife, rope, hammer, and tape, and had surveilled the woman before the ambush. 

In its ruling, the appellate court agreed with the trial court’s assessment that the crime was one of deliberate revenge, executed with planning and persistence.