Police looking close to a important highway in North Yorkshire imagine they’ve discovered the stays of a girl murdered by her husband greater than a decade in the past. Rania Alayed was 25 when she was murdered by Ahmed al-Khatib in a Salford flat in June 2013 in what police on the time described as an “honour” killing, the Guardian reported.
A court docket heard that Khatib, enraged after Alayed left him, lured her to her demise and later wore her clothes to deceive family and friends into believing she was nonetheless alive.
It was recognized that Alayed’s physique had been transported to North Yorkshire and buried close to the A19. Regardless of a number of searches through the years, her stays had not been discovered.
Nonetheless, following new data, Higher Manchester Police launched a recent search in Thirsk on Monday, which led to the invention of human stays. Whereas formal identification continues to be pending, a police spokesperson said, “We strongly suspect the stays are that of Rania.”
#UPDATE | Officers looking for the physique of homicide sufferer Rania Alayed have found human stays in Thirsk.
Learn extra right here: https://t.co/6fyQUFl6iL pic.twitter.com/wxpMTOPwRB
— Higher Manchester Police (@gmpolice) February 26, 2025
Alayed’s son, Yazan, talking on behalf of the household, described the invention as “surreal” and stated, “For the previous 11 years, all we now have wished is to offer my mom with a closing resting place. To lastly have the ability to lay down a number of flowers for her is greater than I can ask for from this world.”
Initially from Palestine, Alayed had moved to the UK with Khatib from Syria. Her marriage was marked by home violence, however after leaving Khatib, she was striving to construct a greater life for herself and her three kids.
In the course of the homicide trial, the court docket heard that Khatib killed her whereas their kids have been within the subsequent room. CCTV footage later captured him sporting her headband and denims in an try to keep up the phantasm that she was nonetheless alive.
Khatib was sentenced to life in jail with a minimal time period of 20 years. A police detective concerned within the case known as it an “honour” killing, stating that Khatib’s actions have been pushed by “outrage and jealousy” over Alayed’s want to take management of her personal life.
“The contempt you confirmed for Rania in demise matched the contempt with which you handled her in life,” trial decide Mr Justice Leggatt informed Khatib.
Higher Manchester Police confirmed that forensic groups would stay on the Thirsk web site within the coming days.
DCI Neil Higginson from the most important incident staff stated: “Greater than a decade after her homicide, we now strongly imagine we now have discovered Rania’s physique, bringing long-overdue closure to her household.
“Her homicide was completely horrific, and the uncertainty surrounding her stays has solely deepened the ache for many who liked her. I hope we are able to now reunite her together with her household to allow them to lastly lay her to relaxation.”