Man strangles toddler niece to death to avenge family dispute

Ramallah: Hamas Police and the Public Prosecution in Gaza have arrested Emad Al Souri, the uncle of two-year-old niece Hadeel Ahmad Al Souri, who was missing since December 30, 2013.

The Gaza Police announced late on Wednesday that the child’s uncle had been arrested for strangling her to death and burying her on an empty plot of land in the refugee camp. The child was found buried about a kilometre from her home.

Sources in Gaza told Gulf News suggested that Emad committed his crime to avenge domestic disputes with Hadeel’s parents.

Gaza Police commissioned an investigative committee to examine the suspicious disappearance of the toddler. The toddler’s family, relatives, neighbours and the residents of Al Nusairat Refugee Camp in Gaza were also engaged in futile searches for the little girl across the Gaza Strip since her disappearance.

Commenting on the crime, which has shocked Gazan society, the Police said that a relative of the victim who was collecting sand from the plot urged a passer-by to call the police and report a nasty smell from the area.

The man told the police that he suspected a body was close by.

The police forces first suspected the man of complicity as he was collecting sand from the centre of the area rather than from the sides and the place he chose to dig was the place where the little girl’s body was located.

The police dug in the area and recovered the girl’s body less than a metre below the surface.

The police statement said that the remains were partly decomposed but the police force recognised the girl as her clothes matched those of the missing child. Gaza Police summoned the victim’s grandmother to identify the body.

The Gaza Public Prosecution referred the remains to a forensic expert for autopsy.

Several suspects were arrested, among them was Emad, the uncle who confessed the heinous crime during the police interrogations. The Gaza Police have referred the suspect to the Public Prosecution for further investigation to determine his motive for murdering a two-year-old.

After his arrest, Gaza Attorney General Esmail Jaber and the Chief of Intermediate District of Gaza Lieutenant Colonel Foad Abu Butaihan supervised an operation in which the murderer reenacted his crime in detail at the crime scene.

The Gaza Public Prosecution, which released pictures of the operation, officially announced that the maximum and toughest penalty, capital punishment, will be demanded for the murderer.