Report: Monastery Janitor Confesses to Killing 28-Year-Old Woman
Lebanese woman Myriam al-Ashqar, 28, was found dead and soaked in blood Tuesday in a forestland located between the Keserwan towns of Sahel Alma and Harisa, LBC television reported.
It later appeared that she was killed by the janitor of the Our Lady of the Annunciation monastery in Baqloush, where she went to pray on Monday and where she used to pray several times every other week, LBC said.
The janitor killed her after she managed to prevent him from raping her, the TV network added.
When Myriam did not return home that day, the search started in Sahel Alma’s forestlands, with the participation of army troops, security forces and the town’s residents, according to LBC.
The search operation continued until Tuesday morning, when parts of her clothes were found blood-soaked and buried in the ground near the janitor’s room, prompting the search crews to intensify their efforts before discovering Myriam’s body wrapped in a white bag in a hard-to-reach place.
Army troops from the airborne regiment then rappelled down the valley and pulled the body.
Security forces arrested the prime suspect in the crime, the Syrian janitor Fathi Jabr al-Salatin, who is well-known in the town, where he had been residing over the last year and a half.
Information obtained by LBC said “the perpetrator tried to rape Myriam to no avail, before hitting her on the head with a sharp object and finally slaughtering her.”
“He then put her in a sackcloth bag, tied the bag and threw it down the cliff,” LBC added.
The janitor reportedly confessed to committing the crime and DNA tests are underway to confirm that, LBC said.
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