Man accused of murdering Dubai air hostess acquitted

Prosecutors had alleged that the Tunisian man held his Japanese girlfriend in a chokehold until she died.

DUBAI // A man accused of murdering his air hostess girlfriend after she tried to end their relationship was acquitted on Sunday.

Prosecutors at the Dubai Criminal Court alleged that Tunisian E J, 29, had made use of his martial-arts expertise to target pressure points in M R’s neck to make her death seem accidental.

M R, an Emirates Airline flight attendant from Japan, had returned home from a flight at about 5am on April 25, 2012.

The court heard that as she entered her apartment in Al Nahda area, she was attacked by her lover, who threw her to the ground then held her neck in a choke hold until she died.

E J, however, denied the charges of premeditated murder.

He said he had visited the apartment at about 7pm that day, where he found her body on the bathroom floor. He picked her up and placed her on a sofa before splashing some water on her face to try to resuscitate her.

He also denied there were any problems in their relationship.

A forensics expert who examined the body in the flat declared that she had died of natural causes. A week later, however, an autopsy report suggested murder.

When police arrested E J in his car, they found Dh14,000 in cash under the passenger seat, which prosecutors alleged was taken from the woman.