Story By: Maja Mishevksa, Sub Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash

A beautiful Lebanese model allegedly suffocated by her husband before he fled to Turkey died after demanding a divorce, it has been revealed.

The killing took place in the district of Ain el-Mraisseh in Lebanon’s capital Beirut in the early morning of 30th January.

The lifeless body of Lebanese model Zeina Kanjo was found in her apartment and her husband Ibrahim Ghazal is suspected of suffocating her to death by covering her mouth with his hand.

According to Kanjo’s lawyer Ashraf Al-Mousawi, Ghazal fled the country right after the incident, travelling on a Middle East Airlines plane headed for Istanbul in the early morning of 30th January.

He also said a person whom Ghazal had contacted upon arrival in Istanbul, whose name has not been revealed, and who was aware of the crime he had committed, reported him to the police.

Although the real reasons behind the incident are currently unknown, reports said Ghazal tried to justify the horrific crime by saying he had caught his wife cheating with another man.

A phone call recording shared by Kanjo’s sister Ruba has exposed a conversation between her and Ghazal in which he admitted to covering her mouth once she began screaming and said: “What else should I have done after catching her with someone else in my house?”

But the alleged other man was not named nor was it revealed what the consequences were when he supposedly caught him in bed with his wife.

Al-Mousawi added that an investigation has been initiated to arrest Ghazal and deport him from Turkey back to Lebanon.

Kanjo’s body was immediately transferred from her home in Beirut to her hometown where she was buried.

According to local media, despite depicting a perfect relationship on social media, the model had filed for divorce.

The incident raised debate on social media, with netizens claiming the country continually fails to protect women who are victims of domestic violence and relevant laws in place are biased against women.

Lebanese singer Elissa joined the debate on Twitter, writing: “The male community can find 100 justifications for a man who is a killer, but they can’t find one single reason to punish him.

“The male community is the one that caused Zeina Kanjo to be killed and her husband to flee to Turkey without anyone taking action to stop it. If the murdered victim was a man, what would have happened?”

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