Daily Star - Lynched Egyptian had history of unbalanced behavior, May 6, 2010

Lynched Egyptian had history of 'unbalanced' behavior


By Maher Zeineddine
Daily Star correspondent

IQLIM AL-KHARROUB: One week after the Ketermaya quadruple murder and after the vengeful killing of suspect Mohammad Salim Msallem, security sources began to reveal details of investigations.
Meanwhile, relatives of the victims and locals of the village were still enraged by “unfair media coverage” and blamed security forces for not arresting the suspect earlier.
Security forces have been investigating the killing of the Merhi family – Youssef Abu Merhi, his wife Kawthar and their grandchildren Amina and Zeina – as well as the lynching of Egyptian national Msallem, who was suspected of committing the quadruple murder.
The four members of the Merhi family were allegedly stabbed to death by Msallem in their home in Ketermaya for reasons that still remain unclear. Msallem was arrested within 24 hours and he was led by security forces to the Merhi home to re-enact the crime.
However, an angry mob of villagers. calling for revenge, attacked the suspect and killed him before hanging his body on an electric post.
Security sources told the daily As-Safir in an article published Wednesday that Msallem had been the last person seen entering the Merhi house and his clothes were covered with blood when he was arrested.
“The monstrous crimes Msallem committed indicate he was psychologically unbalanced … Investigations showed he stabbed each victim at least 25 times and he was at ease after his actions because he did not remove the blood-covered shirt he was wearing,” the sources said.
They added that Msallem had a history of unbalanced behavior in Egypt as well as in Lebanon, where his is said to have raped a 15-year-old girl in Ketermaya two months before he murdered the Merhi family.
Investigations were launched into the rape case but were dropped when Msallem disappeared and the legal deadline to arrest him passed.
Investigators have also been focusing on the possibility that Msallem had an accomplice and have been trying to determine who was responsible for Msallem’s vengeful killing, with 10 suspects already identified.
However, Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar admitted to As-Safir that it was difficult to determine the identity of the villagers who were responsible
“When the reaction is so intense it’s difficult to know who the culprits really were,” he said. “A crime is never confirmed unless a final legal decision is taken,” he added when asked whether Msallem was guilty.
Lebanese and Egyptian authorities have been cooperating in investigations and the latter have received Msallem’s body and have performed an autopsy. The mother of the murdered suspect has also been cooperating with Egyptian judicial authorities and with a Lebanese lawyer to legally pursue all those involved in her son’s murder.
Meanwhile, Rana Abu Merhi, the mother of the two slain children, has been daily receiving visitors paying condolences for her family’s death. She blames security forces for the death of her family and accuses the media of being unfair.
The heartbroken mother and angry Ketermaya locals see the media’s handling of the case as unfair and they accuse Lebanese media outlets of forgetting about the hideous crime Msallem committed.
“My family was killed twice. The first time when I saw my parents and my daughters covered with blood and the other when the media ignored their brutal murder and portrayed the murderer as a victim,” Merhi told the few journalists she allowed to enter her aunt’s home, where she was receiving condolences earlier this week.
She also condemned the negligence of Lebanese security forces and said they should have arrested Msallem when he illegally entered Lebanon and committed several offenses.


Copyright (c) 2010 The Daily Star