DUBAI // A man who cut the throat of a woman a year after buying her washing machine has had his death sentence upheld by the Appeals Court.
A M, 28, an accountant from India, admitted killing the woman and stealing her jewellery on September 26 last year.
He waited until the woman’s husband and son had left the flat in Al Rafa before knocking on the door. He wore gloves and had a knife.
When the woman answered he said he wanted a receipt for the washing machine and asked for a glass of water.
When she turned her back he grabbed her and cut her throat, ransacked the flat and stole her jewellery.
A neighbour became suspicious when she did not collect her son from school and called her husband, who discovered his wife’s body.
“She was in a pool of blood,” the husband said. “I checked her pulse but there was none.”
He said Dh25,000 worth of jewellery had been stolen.
Police matched the woman’s DNA to injuries on the killer’s face. Officers said he confessed to the murder, saying he had been going through financial hardships.
“He told me the woman brought him a glass of water,” said K D, the arresting officer. “He drank it and asked for another one, but when she turned her back to get it for him, he took out the knife.”
He said the killer claimed he asked her not to scream when she saw the knife, as he was there only to steal. But he decided to kill her when she dropped the glass and started screaming.
“He told me that after the murder and the robbery, he put on one of her husband’s shirts because his was stained with blood,” said the police officer.
The case has been referred to the Cassation Court for a final hearing.
salamir@thenational.ae