ISF Arrest Uber Driver over Murder of British Embassy Staffer

The Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch on Monday arrested a taxi driver suspected of killing British embassy worker Rebecca Dykes after attempting to rape her, according to officials and the National News Agency.

The Lebanese news agency said the Lebanese man, Tarek H., had confessed to killing the young woman, who worked at the UK embassy in Beirut.

LBCI television identified the driver as Tarek S. Houshiyeh, 29, saying he hails from Beirut and was arrested in Ashrafieh.

Dykes was last seen alive at a party in Gemmayze, a Beirut nightlife area popular with foreigners, on Friday night and left in a taxi. A judicial source told the AFP news agency that the driver worked for the global online taxi-hailing firm Uber. Media reports said he had a criminal record.

A senior official in the judiciary said the woman had booked her vehicle using the Uber app, whose driver identification and rating system is seen by many, especially women, as offering better safety guarantees than when hailing a cab off the street in Lebanon.

The driver "tried to rape her and when she resisted he strangled her... took her wallet and threw her in a dumpster," the official said.

In a statement, Uber said it was working with authorities "to assist their investigation in any way we can."

"We are horrified by this senseless act of violence. Our hearts are with the victim and her family," the Uber statement said.

The National News Agency said the driver "picked her up in Gemmayze on Friday night, took her to Ashrafieh then to the Metn highway and tried to rape her," referring to an expressway north of Beirut.

Her body was found dumped on the roadside there on Saturday evening.

A senior security official had told AFP that strangulation was a possible cause of death and added that Dykes was found with a string tied around her neck.

The Lebanese news agency said the driver confessed to killing Dykes.

A police official said the suspect was traced through security cameras that showed his car driving from Beirut to the area where Dykes' body was found, just north of the Lebanese capital.

"He was detained at his apartment," the official said. He added that once the plate number of the vehicle was traced through security cameras, the suspect, who is a Lebanese citizen, was identified.

Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq praised the rapid arrest, saying it should boost confidence in Lebanon's security agencies. He said authorities are concerned about the safety of "all foreigners residing in Lebanon."

The Lebanese news agency said the suspect picked up the woman from Beirut's Gemmayze and then drove to a nearby neighborhood where she lived but did not drop her off there.

Instead, the suspect drove the car to the site where Dykes' body was later found. NNA said the man tried to sexually assault her, then strangled her with a rope.

When she was found, there were no items pointing to her identity and she had no money or a cellular telephone. Authorities released a drawing of her in order for people who know her to come forward and identify her.

Such crime is rare in the Lebanese capital, a city which is considered generally safe, including for tourists and foreign residents. A senior official had stressed that the murder was "not politically motivated."

A picture of the young woman, who worked at the British government's Department for International Development (DFID), was on the front pages of many UK papers Monday.

The British Ambassador to Lebanon, Hugo Shorter, expressed his grief in a statement and messages of support for her family and colleagues poured in from Beirut's shell-shocked diplomatic and aid community.

“The whole embassy is deeply shocked and saddened by this news. Our thoughts are with Becky’s family, friends and colleagues for their tragic loss. We are providing consular support to Becky’s family and working very closely with the Lebanese local authorities who are conducting the police investigation,” Shorter said.

Meanwhile, Britain's Foreign Office confirmed the death of an embassy staffer who worked for the Department for International Development.

In a statement released by the Foreign Office, the family requested that the media respect their privacy "at this very difficult time."

"We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca. We are doing all we can to understand what happened," her family said.

Dykes' friends said she was planning to fly home for Christmas on Saturday.