The State Attorney's Office filed an indictment today (Monday) in the Jerusalem District Court against Salah Othman, a 48-year-old resident of A-Tur in Jerusalem, for the aggravated murder of Fatma Rajabi about three weeks ago.
Othman planned her murder based on a financial debt for a vacation, purchased a barrel in advance to hide her body, and later met with her and hit her in the head with a hammer, causing her death.
The prosecution is asking the court to order Othman's arrest until the end of the legal proceedings against him.
According to the indictment, filed through attorney Nati Ben Hamu of the Jerusalem District Attorney's Office, Othman gambled frequently and over the years fell into financial debt. The deceased, whom he met through his work as a technician, lent him a cumulative sum of approximately 90,000 shekels over the years, after telling her that the money was intended for establishing a business selling and repairing washing machines. In practice, Othman used the money for gambling.
The deceased later demanded that Othman repay the remaining debt.
In response to her demands, a few days before the murder, Othman decided to murder her. To this end, he purchased a metal barrel, which he hid in a shed in his yard, with the intention of hiding her body in it after the murder.
About three weeks ago, Othman met with the deceased in Azriya and drove her towards his home in At-Tur, after telling her that he would bring her the money from there. When they arrived near his home, and after the deceased continued to demand her money, Othman took a hammer from the trunk and hit her hard in the head.
After noticing that she was still moving, he hit her once more in the head. As a result of his actions, the deceased died shortly thereafter.
After the murder, Othman traveled to various locations in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv with the deceased's body in his car. He then placed her body in a barrel he had purchased in advance and poured sealant over it, in order to prevent its discovery. He also took the deceased's debit card and used it to withdraw 15,000 shekels from her account.
Othman even hid the hammer and threw away the mobile phones he was using, in order to prevent them from being used as evidence and his detection by the police.
Othman hid for several days until he met with a relative, who turned him in to the police.
The investigation was conducted by the Shalem Police Station in the Jerusalem District.
The indictment charges Othman with aggravated murder, destruction of evidence, debit card theft, aggravated debit card fraud, and theft.
