A judge who murdered his TV host wife and then dissolved her body with acid has been sentenced to be hanged to death by a court in Egypt.
Judge Ayman Hajjaj lured his second wife, Shaimaa Gamal, 32, to a remote farm where he clubbed her unconscious and throttled her to death.
Then, the court heard, he dumped her body in a shallow grave and covered her in corrosive chemicals so she could never be recognised.
His accomplice – businessman Hussein al-Gharabli – has also been sentenced to death.
Ironically, it was al-Gharbali who tipped off police where to find the body even though he was not a suspect at the time.
Both men must complete one year’s hard prison labour before their execution, Giza Criminal Court ruled.
The gruesome murder took place after LTC television host Shaimaa reportedly threatened to tell the judge’s first wife that they had wed.
The defendants were also charged with theft, according to a statement Newsflash obtained from the Egyptian Public Prosecution’s Office on the same day.
This was after the Public Prosecution broadcasted its case for the murder victim on its official YouTube channel.
The official ruling came after the Grand Mufti, Egypt’s top religious authority, approved a sentence that was originally handed down to the pair in August.
Following the tip off from al-Gharabli the news presenter was found buried on a farm in Al Mansoureyah in the Giza Governorate on 27th June.
This was after Hajjaj reported her as missing three weeks earlier while claiming that Shaimaa entered a hair salon and “did not exit.”
In contrast, a statement from the prosecution accused the judge of luring his wife to the farm where her grave was already dug.
He then strangled her to death after striking her on the head with the help of his accomplice, al-Gharabli.
Forensic experts added that the TV host’s body was placed in the grave before corrosive material was poured over it to make it unrecognisable.
This was after Shaimaa threatened to tell his first wife about their secret marriage, said prosecutors.
Hajjaj went on to claim self-defence after stating that his late wife had attacked him with a knife, while prosecutors pointed out that no knife was found at the scene of the crime and that the judge did not mention self-defence in a previous statement.
Al-Gharabli originally claimed to be a mere witness to the crime while his lawyer stated that he had been held hostage by the judge.
He then admitted to a partial involvement in Shaimaa’s murder before he was placed in police custody as authorities continued to investigate the case.
