CAIRO: The evidence in the case being built against the defendant in the Sixth of October City murder of two girls is corroborative and almost complete, according to the lawyer of one of the victims.
The forensic report of the murders of Heba Al-Akkad and Nadine Khaled in Al Nada compound in Sheikh Zayed has been sent to the investigating authorities, who have charged Mahmoud Essawy, 20, of both crimes.
Essawy allegedly entered Khaled’s apartment where the two girls were staying with the intent to steal. He is supposed to have taken two mobile phones and LE 400.
Essam Shiha, Khaled’s lawyer, told Daily News Egypt that the evidence gathered in the case is almost complete and none of it is contrary to the culpability of the defendant.
“What we have received is that his fingerprints match those found, the victims’ blood was found on his clothes, the driver who drove him home after the crime identified him as well as the friend who was given the mobile to sell. The defendant has also confessed. All the evidence is complete. There were further investigations because of the questions posed in the media, he said.
The South Giza Prosecution office received the final forensic report of the murders on Saturday.
According to Al-Dostour newspaper, the report indicated that the scene of the crime only contained the blood of the two victims, and not the blood of the defendant.
Additionally, the report could not find any skin scrapings from the defendant under the victims’ nails, although it stipulated that it wasn’t necessary for the skin to be found in the case of a struggle, nor did it necessitate the presence of his blood at the crime scene.
However, Shiha refuted what was reported in the newspaper, saying that no one was privy to the findings of the report.
“No one saw the report, the information we got was that his undergarments contained their blood. We, the lawyers, didn’t even see the report, he said.
This was reiterated by Hassan Aboul Einen, Al-Akkad’s lawyer.
“We have not received the latest updates on the case and the Prosecutor’s office has been keeping everything under wraps; they are telling us to file motions to receive the reports, Aboul Einen said. “I am waiting to see for myself the latest reports to decide what to do next.
Shiha will demand the death sentence for Essawy, attributing his request to criminal law 234 which allows the death sentence for murders committed during robbery.
Essawy’s father was questioned over the presence of the victims’ blood on his son’s undergarments.
Shiha has filed suits against Khaled’s neighbors because of their lack of intervention, despite cries for help that allegedly lasted half an hour.
He said, “I have the right to hold people accountable for not stepping in to help. I think the neighbors acted in a very wrong way, especially those who heard and did not do anything at all. We must ask: what happened to Egyptians?
According to Al-Dostour, the report stated that the cause of death for Al-Akkad was a result of four deep stab wounds in the stomach. As for Khaled, she died from a 7.5 cm cut across her neck.
According to local press, Laila Ghoufran, Al-Akkad’s mother, made further statements to the prosecutor’s office Saturday accusing her son-in-law, Ali Essam Eldin, of stealing her daughter’s jewelry which she claimed amounted to around LE 110,000.
However, Eldin, who also paid a visit to the public prosecutor’s office later that day, told Al-Masry Al-Youm that he was there to hand in his late wife’s jewelry to the authorities.
He also distributed copies of a subpoena from the prosecutor’s office in Agouza regarding the fact that Ghoufran has to serve a one year sentence for a bounced check.
Aboul Einen however denied that Ghoufran accused her son-in-law of any wrong-doing.
“There is nothing going on between them, he said. “She is his mother-in-law and she would often cook for him and her daughter. She did not accuse Ali of stealing anything. However, what he did is his own responsibility, we are not responsible for his actions.
“Her daughter has just been brutally murdered, she is not concerned about this sort of thing, Aboul Einen added.
Shiha has also submitted a complaint against some 40 journalists to the Journalists’ Syndicate for grossly misreporting details of the girls’ lives.
“We are giving the syndicate a chance to see what they will do, he said. “We are looking for huge civil damages – LE 10 million from every newspaper – which will be donated to building an orphanage. We don’t want prison sentences but we have not ruled out going to court.
