UAE: Man murders ex-girlfriend after they broke up over dating app

Dubai - The break-up affected the man so badly that he lost his job because he couldn't take it, court records show.

An Arab man has stood trial in Dubai for reportedly stabbing his ex-girlfriend to death in the building where she lived.

According to public prosecution records, the murder happened in July last year. Holding a knife, the defendant went to the victim’s flat and asked her to talk to him. When she refused, he stabbed her in the neck twice and slaughtered her, court documents show.

The defendant and victim had started dating in 2017 but their relationship turned rocky in 2019, when the victim downloaded a dating app. The break-up affected the man so badly that he lost his job in December that year. He then visited her in Dubai and they eventually got back together.

“In March 2020, the accused discovered that she was using the dating app again, leading to heated arguments between the couple. A month later, the victim sent him a message, saying she doesn’t want to talk or see him again,” according to the records.

The defendant had been trying to win her back since then, to no avail. In June last year, the woman asked if she could borrow Dh50,000. The accused said he lent her Dh30,000, though he did’t have a job. He asked her if she had a relationship with someone else, and when she said she did, he got “extremely angry”.

“He called her and insulted her, and she stopped talking to him until June 20, 2020, when she returned the money that he loaned her,” records show.

When she came to pay him back, the accused wanted to talk to her again, yet she refused. The Arab man decided to search the neighbourhood where she lived — building by building — until he found her car parked in one area.

At one point, she assaulted her, tied her hands and legs, and asked her if she was seeing someone else. She said yes. After the incident, the victim was able to file a police report, and the accused was asked to sign a document, pledging he would stay away from her.

On the day of the crime, the accused went to her apartment and found that she changed the lock. He decided to hide and wait at the emergency exit, until she returned from work.

When the victim arrived, he grabbed her hand. The woman resisted and started to scream. The accused then pulled out his knife and pushed her through the emergency exit. “I just wanted to talk to her,” he said.

One of the residents in the building saw the fight, tried to open the emergency door, but the accused pushed it back. The victim tried to stop him and cut his finger. When he saw the blood, the accused stabbed her in the neck.

“The witness went to the ground floor and reported the incident to the security guard. When the officer reached the scene on the seventh floor, the woman’s body was already on the ground,” court records show.

The defendant admitted to the crime.

• Dubai