Suzan's family says it will speak up when the time is right

Beirut: A giant portrait of Suzan Tamim is hard to miss at the entrance to her family home in the Aicha Bakkar area of Beirut. A huge wreath hangs next to the portrait, the flowers dried and withered.

The drone of traffic rises above everything else on the narrow street outside that is lined with small shops and old buildings.

The funereal atmosphere inside the house is in stark contrast to the bustle on the street.

A woman, her hair covered with a scarf, stands by the door.

It is Suzan's paternal grandmother. She declines comment on the arrest of Egyptian tycoon Hesham Tala'at Mustafa and the confessions of retired Egyptian colonel Mohsen Sukkari, both believed to have been involved in the murder of her granddaughter.

"I know that God will show the truth because Suzan was innocent, she never hurt anybody," she says with tears in her eyes.

Avoiding declarations

As for Suzan's father, Abdul Sattar Tamim, who appeared as a witness along with his son and ex-wife in a Beirut police station to throw light on the threats the singer had been receiving before her murder, he did not want to make comments either. "It is still early for declarations. Time will come when the family will speak up.

"We are waiting for the end of the inquiry", he said calmly.

The Tamim family - hailing from a traditional Sunni background - is trying to collect its thoughts and grieving away from the media glare.

If the family is desperate in the hope of getting justice, it is trying not to let it show.