Police in Manchester, United Kingdom, have made a shocking discovery 12 years after the disappearance of Rania Alayed and the conviction of her husband for her murder.
Police announced that they have found human remains that they believe are Alayed. Her husband, Ahmed Al-Khatib, was found guilty of her murder in June 2014, receiving a life sentence with a minimum of 20 years imprisonment despite her body never being found.
"The discovery of my mother's remains more than a decade onwards has come as a surreal surprise to me and my family," Rania's son, Yazan said. "At last, being able to provide a final resting place is all we have wanted for the last 11 years, to have the ability to lay down a few flowers for my mother is more than I can ask for from this world."
The body has not yet been officially identified, but police said that they strongly suspect that it is Rania.
"More than a decade after her murder, we now strongly believe we have located Rania's body and are finally able to provide closure to her family, who we know have endured so much pain and grief over the years," Detective Chief Inspector Neil Higginson, from Greater Manchester Police's Major Incident Team, said.
Over the years, police had conducted several searches for Rania's body. The remains were finally located by the A19 in Thirsk, where law enforcement had been operating since Monday.
"Rania's family have always been kept informed following our searches over the last few years, and we are providing them updates as we get them following this most recent development," he said. "Her murder was utterly horrific, and not knowing where her body is has inflicted further pain to all those who knew her. I hope that we are now able to finally reunite her with her family, where she belongs, so that they can give her a proper resting place."
Originally published on Latin Times
