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Police searching near to a main road in North Yorkshire believe they have found the remains of a woman murdered by her husband more than a decade ago.
Rania Alayed was 25 when she was murdered by Ahmed al-Khatib in a Salford flat in June 2013 in what police at the time described as an “honour” killing.
A court heard Khatib, angry that she had left him, lured Alayed to her death and then wore her clothing to convince friends and family she was still alive.
It was known that Alayed’s body had been driven to North Yorkshire and buried close to the A19. Despite “multiple searches” over the years, no body had been found.
Following fresh information a new search began in Thirsk on Monday, Greater Manchester police (GMP) said, resulting in human remains being found.
While no official identification has taken place, a spokesperson said: “We strongly suspect the remains are that of Rania.”
Alayed’s son Yazan, speaking on behalf of their family, said: “The discovery of my mother’s remains more than a decade onwards has come as a surreal surprise to me and my family.
“At last, being able to provide a final resting place is all we have wanted for the last 11 years, to have the ability to lay down a few flowers for my mother is more than I can ask for from this world.”
Alayed was a Palestinian refugee who moved to the UK with Khatib from Syria. Her marriage was marred by domestic violence but she had left Khatib and was trying to make a better life for herself and her three children.
The murder trial heard that Khatib killed her while her children were in the next room. He was captured on CCTV in his wife’s headscarf and jeans, done to convince friends and family that she was still alive.
After Khatib was jailed for life, with a minimum term of 20 years, a police detective involved in the case said “make no mistake, this was an ‘honour’ killing”.
He said Khatib was motivated by “his outrage and jealousy that Rania would attempt to take control of her own life and live a more westernised life, after suffering years of abuse at his hands.
“His male ‘pride’ clearly couldn’t take a strong woman trying to determine her own fate, so he carried out one final act that would ensure she could never defy him again.”
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The trial judge, Mr Justice Leggatt, said Alayed had suffered years of abuse, telling her killer “the contempt you showed for Rania in death matched the contempt of how you treated her in life”.
A police spokesperson said a scene would remain in place in Thirsk for the coming days as further work was carried out by specialist officers.
Speaking on Wednesday DCI Neil Higginson, from the GMP Major Incident Team, said: “More than a decade after her murder, we now strongly believe we have located Rania’s body and are finally able to provide closure to her family, who we know have endured so much pain and grief over the years.
“Rania’s family have always been kept informed following our searches over the last few years, and we are providing them updates as we get them following this most recent development.
“Her murder was utterly horrific and not knowing where her body is has inflicted further pain to all those who knew her. I hope that we are now able to finally reunite her with her family, where she belongs, so that they can give her a proper resting place.”
