Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – A man has been jailed for 25 years and fined MAD 200,000 ($20,000) for killing a woman and burning her body, the Tangier Court of Appeals ruled last Thursday. The court dropped the premeditated murder charge but found him guilty of murder.
The harrowing case has shook Morocco’s northern city.
The final verdict comes months after the crime was originally reported on May 21, 2024, when a farmer saw a fire on the open field. Police found charred remains. Investigators later identified the victim and the killer using forensic evidence.
The Tetouan-born, 40-year-old suspect – under alias “H.A.,” – confessed to the crime. In his testimony he said he had met the woman, who was working as an escort, at a shisha cafe in Tangier and invited her to his flat in Nejmeh district.
According to H.A., the evening started well. But when the woman asked for more money, a fight erupted. H.A. stated that he lost control and stabbed her in the neck.
In his testimony he further stated that afterward, while sitting next to her, he was unable to think clearly as he was still under the effect of drugs. When he came to his senses, he decided to get rid of the body. He broke her limbs to fit her into a suitcase, then took it to an empty land on the outskirts of the city, poured flammable fluid, and then set it on fire.
Shortly after, he left the car nearby and fled Tangier. Police caught up to him and arrested him in Nador.
H.A.’s lawyer asked for a lighter sentence. He argued that H.A. had no criminal record and
was under the influence of drugs. But the court disagreed, stating that the crime was too severe.
Read Also: Second Moroccan Reported Dead in Valencia’s Devastating Floods
