The Public Prosecution said on Tuesday it arraigned 20 people, including the prime suspect and his accomplices, after a month-long investigation into a double murder in the city, Al-Watan newspaper reported.

Umm Badr and her son Badr were killed by gunfire in front of their house in Al-Dhibat district of Najran about a month ago.

Before the murder, the victim’s husband has received text messages and voice messages from the alleged murderer threatening to burn him and his family members in a fire. The murderer also opened fire in the neighborhood to frighten the family.

The husband reported the incident with the messages to the police. However, the suspect opened fire at the family as they were on their way back home from Ramadan shopping. The man was arrested in less than 24 hours.

Police had summoned a total of 60 suspects, but only 20 of them were charged.

The men had either helped the murderer commit his crime or sheltered him from justice. Some of them are employees of the public sector who used their capacity to obstruct the investigation while some others are minors.

The prosecutor sought the death penalty for the murderer and prison terms and lashings for his accomplices.

The accused confessed that he had chased his victims from city to city to take revenge for reporting him to the official authorities. He said he had fired six shots at the husband and one of them hit his wife.

SOURCE : SAUDIGAZETTE