Dubai: A seven-year love affair ended violently when a cargo inspector killed his ex-girlfriend by hitting her head with a baseball bat and stabbing a knife in her neck after she ditched him, a court heard on Sunday.
The 29-year-old Kenyan man allegedly followed his countrywoman for weeks and repeatedly contacted her but when she persistently dodged him, he decided to kill her.
On March 1, the Kenyan man purchased a baseball bat and a knife from Deira, according to records, before he went to his ex-girlfriend’s office.
The man hid inside the emergency exit space in the building for some time and at 5.30pm he entered the office and killed her with a baseball bat and the knife, said records.
The man also set her girlfriend’s office on fire by using a cloth soaked in petrol. Police and fire fighters were informed about the incident by one of the co-workers of the victim. Dubai Police apprehended the cargo inspector shortly after the incident.
Prosecutors accused the suspect of premeditatedly murdering the woman, arson and wrecking private property.
The 29-yar-old suspect pleaded guilty and admitted that he murdered the victim when he appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Sunday.
Prosecutors said the defendant had pre-planned to kill his girlfriend and for this he bought a baseball bat and a knife and hid them in a bag. Then he headed to the victim’s office where he set the place on fire and killed the woman.
“Yes I killed her but I had not planned the murder in advance,” the suspect told judge Fahd Al Shamsi.
The deceased’s 27-year-old female co-worker told prosecutors that the victim broke up with the inspector because he was alcoholic.
“I came to know from her best friend in Kenya that she dumped him and he could not deal with the fact that she had broken up with him. He used to call her daily but she always dodged him and refused to see him or attend his call. The victim used to share the same apartment with her boyfriend but she moved into my place after she broke up with him. On the day of the incident, the suspect came to office and knocked at the door … when we opened the door we found the suspect standing outside and he was looking very angry. After entering the office the suspect lit up a piece of cloth soaked with petrol and tossed it up. The cloth fell on the rug. Then he rushed towards the victim, who tried to lock her inside the washroom but could not do so as it was already locked from inside by another colleague. When the victim yelled at the suspect, he hit her with the baseball bat and as she fell down he hit her again. I ran outside the office and called the neighbours for help ... I bumped into another colleague in the elevator and we rushed down to call the security for assistance … but we didn’t find anyone. When police came, we went up to the office, the suspect had already left and my friend had been lying dead with a knife stabbed in her neck,” the co-worker told prosecutors.
A policeman told prosecutors that the suspect was spotted on surveillance cameras while entering and leaving the building.
“The suspect was apprehended hiding in his friend’s residence in Sharjah,” testified the policeman.
The suspect told prosecutors that he decided to kill his ex-girlfriend because she had dumped him after a seven-year love affair.
Presiding judge Al Shamsi said the court will appoint a lawyer to defend the suspect when it reconvenes on March 19.
