(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Â A 'jilted' mechanic assistant allegedly strangled his girlfriend to death by lying on her back and squeezing her neck after he learnt she wanted to break up with him, a court heard.
The 29-year-old Tunisian defendant denied in the Court of First Instance using his martial arts skills to overpower his Japanese girlfriend, an air hostess, and killing her over her intention to leave him for another man. The incident allegedly happened in the early morning hours of April 25 last year in the victim's one-bedroom flat in Al Nahda-Al Qusais.
The defendant was the last one to have ever seen the victim alive when she returned to her flat from work around 5.50am. The body was discovered about 12 hours later.
The accused who lived with the victim claimed to the police that he and the victim were married and she was alive when he left for his work about 6.15am. He returned around 7.20pm and found her lying motionless on her back in the bathroom. He claimed he performed CPR on her, sprinkled her with water and put her in the bath tub to no avail.
He claimed they were a happy couple and did not have any problems and that none entered the flat. He claimed that she was laughing when he left her earlier that morning. The defendant raised the police doubts as he kept changing his statement every time he was questioned by a different officer.
"The victim's mother arrived shortly later from Japan and she denied that her daughter was married to the accused. She confirmed that they used to fight a lot as the victim wanted to leave him," a police lieutenant said.
One of the victim's friends testified that the victim wanted the accused to move out and that he tried to strangle her once, the officer added. The police seized an iPad and a sum of Dh14,000 which was found hidden under a seat in his car. The accused admitted they belonged to the victim.
Through SMS and the testimonies of the victim's sister and workmates, the police learnt that there were constant disputes between the two as the victim was not satisfied about their relation and bent on leaving him for another boyfriend.
The forensic expert said that the victim was strangled to death. The scratches and bruises on her body were inflicted on her prior to her death rather than resulted from her collapsing on her face.
The expert refuted the defendant's allegations that he tried to revive the victim with CPR and water. "Her clothes and the floor were not wet and her lips were bruised".
The expert added that the victim was strangled and that could have happened by a professional way since the defendant knew Karate. The psychological analysis run on the defendant revealed that he was tense and agitated at the time he was interviewed suggesting that he was not telling the truth
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