A confession during a prison visit helps police find remains of Rania Alayed, murdered in North Yorkshire in 2013.
Ahmed Al-Khatib, Rania’s husband, murdered her at age 46. This was eleven years ago, but they never found the body. He is currently serving a life sentence for murdering her. Yazan said his father revealed the body’s location during a two-hour visit earlier this year at Dovegate Prison.
Yazan was nine when his mother died. He shared this information with police in Manchester, and Al-Khatib went to the site with police officers later. He showed them the exact location, and Yazan hopes the remains belong to his mom so they can give her a proper resting place.
Yazan said his dad told him to contact the police and tell them he was ready to review the location. They searched the area on Monday. His father asked for forgiveness and wanted to offer closure, and Yazan could ask anything.
His father said telling him was the reason previous searches failed. His dad said it was on purpose, and he wanted Yazan to be an adult before he explained everything. Now Yazan is an adult and understands things better. His dad disclosed the location properly, and this time it seems like he succeeded.
Yazan now hopes for official confirmation that the tests confirm it is his mom. This would help provide closure, as he has wanted to find his mom’s location for eleven years. Hearing about the found remains was pleasing.
Yazan described his mother as a fantastic and very kind person. She was a fantastic mother to Yazan and his siblings. She studied English at college, and she was everything a child could ask for in a mum.
Yazan is studying to be a nurse. After his mum died, he lived in foster care. At 13, he started visiting his dad. Now he visits every three months. He remembers his parents arguing, and the family went to a police station when she died.
Yazan remembers hearing arguments at home and going to the police station in Manchester. He does not know where his sister was then. They were told the news, and then they went to foster homes.
Al-Khatib killed Rania in June 2013 at an apartment in Salford and received a minimum of 20 years for murder. Detectives learned the remains were near the A19, and despite searching before, they found nothing until this new search.
Rania grew up in Syrian refugee camps. She met Al-Khatib there. He was nine years older, and they married when she was 15. In 2005, they moved to the UK.
During the trial, Al-Khatib was jealous and controlled Rania, subjecting her to violence for years. In January 2013, she reported him to police and got a non-molestation order, moving to a hostel with her kids.
Al-Khatib killed Rania at his brother’s flat. He pretended to be her online and messaged her family to make her seem alive. He told the court he killed her in self-defense, claiming an evil spirit entered her, but he denied murder though. Jurors jailed him for at least 20 years, and he also admitted to hiding her body.
Prosecutors said Rania was killed for becoming too Western and creating her own life. The judge said she endured years of abuse. His brother, Muhanned Al-Khatib, was not guilty of murder but got three years for hiding her body. A third brother, Hussain, got four years for the same thing.