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Death Sentence For Man Who Raped, Killed 8-Year-Old Boy

By Angelica N. Sumter
Published on: 11:10 PST, Aug 16, 2016

Nidal Eisa Abdullah, 48, who raped and killed an 8-year-old boy, was given the death sentenced at Dubai Criminal Court on Monday, according to The National.

On May 20, Obaida Al Aqrabawi was reported missing after he disappeared moments after playing outside in the garage of his home in Sharjah, a city in the United Arab Emirates.

Two days later, the missing child was found dead on Academic City Road in Al Warqa.

Police say Abdullah – who had been consuming alcohol – approached the boy as he was playing and “lured him into his car by offering to buy him a scooter.”

When the boy entered the car, he drove off – kidnapping the child.

It was not immediately made clear where the perpetrator initially took the boy, but he moved the boy to the backseat of his car, where he began to rape him.

When Al Aqrabawi reportedly threatened to tell his father what he was doing, Abdullah began to strangle the boy with his hands for five minutes before stripping the boy of his clothing.

When the boy began to fight back, Abdullah used a red ghutra to continue strangling the boy until he died, according to the Gulf News.

Afterward, he dumped the boy’s body under a tree near Academic City Road and took off.

On May 22, a municipality worker discovered the missing child’s body and immediately alerted police.

“I was about 15 feet away from the boy who looked as if he was sleeping. I informed my senior and the police were informed,” the worker said.

Abdullah was later arrested and charged with “premeditated murder, kidnap, rape of a minor, and drinking and driving a vehicle under the influence of liquor.”

During a previous court hearing, the man admitted to the rape and murder of the 8-year-old boy but stated that he did not kidnap him.

He went on to say that although he doesn’t remember the incident as he was “completely drunk,” he knows that he “did not plan to rape and murder” the boy.

“I knew that alcohol would one day put me in big trouble.”

A jury later found Abdullah guilty of the crimes and a judge ordered him to be put to death.

After the verdict was delivered, the boy’s father, Ibrahim Al Aqrabawi, broke down in tears, saying “thank you, your law gave us peace. Always thankful to God.”

“Now I can visit my son and tell him that justice has been served.”

However, the father added, “If it was in my hands, as a father, I would have stoned him to death because of the pain my son must have gone through, but I have faith in the UAE justice system. I have informed my wife and family in Jordan of the verdict.”

The boy’s mother was unable to attend the sentencing, but the boy’s uncle told reporters that he delivered the message via telephone and when he did, he stated that she was “crying uncontrollably.”

In a phone interview, the mother told reporters that “he deserved this punishment but it does not equal a tiny part of our pain.”

The verdict read as follows: “The court’s findings rest on the evidence in documents and the confessions of the defendant, which came as a result of his free will and full awareness and therefore rejects the defendant’s denial in the closing hearing and pleas submitted by his lawyer.”

“It ruled that he had kidnapped and intentionally killed the boy after raping him and consumed alcohol and drove his vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.

“As for his request for a lenient sentence, the court was horrified by the defendant’s hideous crime and therefore unanimously sentences him to death.”

Although a judge sentenced the man to death for kidnapping, raping, and murdering an 8-year-old boy, the ruling can be appealed in 15 days.

[Image via iStock]

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