A bag containing evidence in the case of the murder of a young man in South Lebanon in December 2022. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient-Le Jour archives)
BEIRUT — An elderly couple was killed Thursday in their home in Maameltein, a neighborhood of Jounieh in Kesrouan, in what authorities described as an apparent double murder with a likely criminal motive, according to initial information from a security source and Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA).
The victims, identified by their initials as L.Y., 68, and her husband G.T., 80, were found in their bedroom, the agency reported. Security forces and forensic police were dispatched to the scene, and an investigation was opened to determine the circumstances of the crime.
Unidentified individuals reportedly broke into the couple’s home and searched the premises, according to NNA. “The investigation is ongoing, and we don’t yet have all the details,” a security source told the agency. “But belongings were found on the floor.” The couple was reportedly killed with a sharp weapon, and no suspects had been identified as of Thursday evening.
Joseph Kosseifi, head of the Syndicate of Lebanese Press Publishers, condemned the “horrific crime” in a statement, blaming what he called “a state of security chaos in the area” and a lack of oversight from local and security authorities. He said repeated warnings had gone unheeded.
“This is a residential and tourist area that has not received the attention it deserves from these authorities, and as such has become subject to unchecked disorder and abuse,” Kosseifi said.
The Maameltein killing follows a string of murders in Lebanon in recent days. On Tuesday, a man was shot dead in Amchit, near Jbeil, with the main suspect — reportedly a colleague — killed after opening fire on Lebanese Army personnel. Last week, a security guard at a tourist complex, also in Jbeil, was killed with a sharp weapon. No arrests have been announced in that case.
