Woman didn't cook ex-lover's body and serve it: Lawyer

The lawyer of a woman, who is accused of killing her lover, cooking his remains and serving it to workers, said that his client might have mental problems.

However, lawyer Khalid bin Jumhour Al Ahbabi denied that the Moroccan woman cooked the body and served it to workers.

An official with Al Ain Police said the Moroccan woman had confessed during investigation that she minced her lover's body and cooked it, and one of her neighbours smelled the meat grilling.

The lawyer said that an investigation is going on and the next court hearing will be held on December 31. He added that 24 witnesses will testify in court.

The police official said that the woman had planned the murder due to jealousy as the victim refused to marry her after seven years of relationship. "She was told that he would marry his relative," the officer said.

"On the date of the incident, the woman invited the victim for dinner at her house. She started an argument with him at her house, which turned into a fight and she stabbed him twice in the chest and abdomen. Then she cut the body into half and placed it in two bags," he added.

After the murder, the woman left her residence and rented a flat in Oud Al Tawba in order to get rid of the man's remains and other evidence.

She sold her jewellery and bought knives and a big meat grinder, a saw and a gas stove. She sliced the body and placed it in the oven. She also disposed of the bone powder as well as the victim's clothes in garbage containers on the streets, the officer said.

Detecting the crime

The police said the friends of the deceased informed them about his disappearance days after he went missing. The police launched an investigation and arrested the woman. During initial interrogation, the defendant denied knowing anything about the victim's whereabouts, but some observations led the police to become suspicious about the woman. There was a large laundry powder container in the house where she lived alone. When searching the house rented by the woman, the police found two fingers and a tooth, which had fallen from the accused while she was disposing of the remains. When the police confronted her with this evidence, she collapsed and confessed that she cut and cooked the body in order to destroy the evidence. She has been charged with premeditated murder.

An Arabic daily quoted a neighbour of the accused saying she heard the sound of the chopping machine and smelt the strange order of meat being grilled in the oven. "Four days after the woman moved to the house, I heard the sound of a chopping machine at 3am. Then, there was a strange stinking smell mixed with that of the grill. What surprised me was the continued sound and the long-lasting smell which continued for a few days. I even had to stop going to the yard because of that smell. We came to know what happened only after the police brought in police dogs and discovered the crime. Then I informed the police about the mincing sound and the smell," the woman was quoted saying.

amira@khaleejtimes.com

Amira Agarib

amira@khaleejtimes.com