East J'lem man beats wife's lover to death

Beit Hanina resident discovers wife's affair, allegedly kidnaps lover to Ramallah and brutally murders him. Suspect denies allegations while court extends remand until Thursday

Yair Altman|Published: 03.06.11 , 17:34

Dangerous triangle – An east Jerusalem resident from Beit Hanina was arrested on suspicion that he murdered 34-year-old Samer Shawish last September and disposed of the body near the neighborhood of al-Ram.

During a hearing on Sunday, the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court extended suspect Osama Shweiki's remand until Thursday.

Shaweiki in court on Sunday (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

According to the investigation details, Shawish, who worked at an electric appliance store, used to send call girls to wealthy married men living in east Jerusalem and the Palestinian Authority. The girls would have intercourse with some of the men, and Shawish would document the acts and use the footage to extort the victims.

However, later in the investigation it was discovered that Shawish's "side business" had nothing to do with the murder. It is suspected Osama Shweiki found out that Shawish was having an affair with his wife.

Upon discovery, Shweiki allegely ambushed Shawish outside his home, and kidnapped him to the Ramallah area, where he interrogated him about the affair.

After confirming the two had a romantic relationship, Shweiki allegedly beat Shawish repeatedly until the latter died of his wounds. Shweiki then disposed of the body in the Israeli part of theal-Ram neighborhood in east Jerusalem.

While Shweiki denied the allegations against him, police claimed they had unequivocal evidence tying him to the murder.

"We've engaged in an intense investigation and had all our districts working to collect evidence. We take every crime seriously, regardless of the sector or the area in which it took place," said Shai District Superintendent Eli Asayag.