Husband confesses to Mieh w Mieh murder: ISF

The Internal Security Forces (ISF) has issued a statement, detailing its arrest and the confession of the husband of a US citizen found dead and mutilated in Mieh w Mieh, near Saida, earlier this week.

It was initially reported that a local man discovered the mutilated body of the American woman in a garden in Mieh w Mieh on Monday.  However, in its statement, ISF gave a different account of the body's discovery, outlining that a patrol from its intelligence branch was informed of "unpleasant smells coming from a resident's house" and, upon inspecting the premises, discovered "body parts placed in a black bag in a hole in the garden of the dwelling."

According to the ISF, the victim, identified by the initials S.J., was an American citizen born in 1964. The statement adds that the victim's children, who live in the United States, had previously reported their mother missing.

At the time of this report, "an investigation was carried out and her husband was summoned," the ISF statement reads, adding that the husband, a Lebanese citizen who was also born in 1964, had claimed his "wife had left the house for an unknown destination."

Investigators gathered testimony from neighbors about marital disputes and "the disappearance of the victim without her husband reporting it, raising suspicions about his involvement in the murder," the statement continues.

According to the statement, on April 16, a police patrol searched the husband's home, arrested him, and "found a military pistol with a magazine and nine usable bullets."

The ISF adds that according to the autopsy, the victim's body was found with "two bullet wounds to the head."

During questioning, the ISF report states that the suspect admitted that on Feb. 10, he had an argument with his wife, which led to him grabbing a pistol that was in the house and shooting her, wounding her with two bullets to the head.

"The husband left the body in the house for two days, then called in a workman and convinced him of his intention to plant trees in the garden, and asked him to dig three holes. He then bought a chainsaw, cut the body into pieces, put them in trash bags and buried them in the holes," the statement says.

It goes on to explain that the husband then told his children that his "wife had left the house for an unknown destination, blocked their access to her phone to make them believe she didn't want to communicate with them, threw the chainsaw into a garbage bin, and cleaned the house to erase the traces of his crime."

When contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, the US Embassy in Lebanon did not release any further information on the case "out of respect for the family at this difficult time."

It did, however, issue a statement saying it had "learned of reports of the death of an American citizen in Saida" and offered its condolences to the family. "We stand ready to provide any necessary consular assistance," the statement said, adding that the State Department "has no higher priority than the safety of Americans abroad."