In a judicial development related to the murder of Khalil Khalil, which took place in Faraya (Kesrouan) during the night of Feb. 1-2, four people suspected of being involved in the crime and currently in provisional detention are set to be questioned on Tuesday by the Mount Lebanon first investigative judge, Nicolas Mansour.

Their case files were transferred to Judge Mansour on Feb. 13 by Samer Lichaa, the advocate general at the Mount Lebanon Court of Appeal, following charges of premeditated homicide and participation in the crime (Articles 549 and 219 of the Penal Code) brought by Judge Lichaa.

The four detained people are R.S. and J.C., along with the latter’s mother and girlfriend, S.D. and T.S.

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Faraya crime: mother and girlfriend of one of the two suspects in custody

According to a source close to the case, after a dispute with Khalil, 20, over the right of way, R.S. contacted J.C., asking him to chase Khalil. Feeling pursued, Khalil got frightened and headed toward the hotel his father owns in Faraya, and called his brother for help, the source said.

Reportedly, upon entering the hotel’s parking lot, Khalil stopped his car and stepped out. Trapped by the vehicle driven by J.C., who was accompanied by his girlfriend T.S., he was then violently hit multiple times.

Khalil’s brother reportedly arrived at the scene just after J.C. had left the parking lot. He pursued him and managed to block his way. However, a second vehicle then appeared, carrying the alleged instigator, R.S., along with J.C.’s mother, S.D., and a man identified as R.A. Initially described as the latter’s husband, R.A. was, in fact, her boyfriend, according to the source.

The three reportedly managed to help J.C. escape. Meanwhile, Khalil was rushed to Saint George Hospital in Ajaltoun by his sister’s fiance, who had come to the scene. However, he succumbed to his injuries on the way, the source added.

R.A., the mother’s boyfriend, and his brother, M.A., are currently on the run and are the subjects of arrest warrants issued in absentia. They are accused of attempting to help the alleged perpetrators of the crime escape justice by helping them flee to Akkar in northern Lebanon, and of trying to erase any evidence, by hiding the vehicle used in the crime, said the source.

The state-run National News Agency reported Feb. 3 that the security forces seized the J.C.’s car “hidden in a side road” in Ehmez, Jbeil.

This article was originally published in French in L'Orient Le-Jour and was translated by Joelle El Khoury.