Man Angry With Wife Partying Drowns 2-Year-Old Son In Sea

A Jordanian man is accused of killing his infant son by drowning him in the sea while vacationing in Pattaya, Thailand, after he had a heated argument with his wife for partying without him.

Wael Nabil Salman Zureikat, 52, who was on a holiday in Pattaya with his family, was detained at Suvarnabhumi airport around 3 a.m. local time (4 p.m. EDT, Monday) Tuesday, after Thai authorities discovered the body of his son floating in the sea off Laem Bali pier, according to Bankok Post. The arrest came as he was about to board a flight back to Jordan.

The body, which was strapped to a collapsible stroller, was discovered by a speedboat worker. “I was taking tourists to an island and on the way back I noticed a body floating in the water. I saw it from far away and thought it was a doll, but when I went closer I saw it was the body of a boy and called police,” speedboat captain Songsee Sunthornchai, 28, said.

Upon interrogation, Zureikat admitted to killing his son in a fit of rage after he quarreled with his wife for leaving him to take care of their child alone as she went partying. The man said that he "decided to kill" their son by tying the infant’s feet to the stroller and tossing him off the pier Friday. He added that following the murder, he decided to flee the country.

Zureikat was also taken by the authorities to the crime scene and re-enacted the entire incident. He reportedly pointed to a nightclub outside which he had the argument with his wife and led the police to the dock where he allegedly pushed off his baby, tied to the pram. He said he regretted his actions.

He said that his wife got worried when she could not locate their son and asked him if he knew about the infant’s whereabouts. At the time he lied and told his wife that he had no idea where their son was.

Police Lieutenant Colonel Piyapong Ensarn said in a statement: “Police were notified of the body floating in the water at the Bali Hai Pier and we arrived at the scene to check. There was a young child between one years old and two years old who had been dead for two or three days. The body was examined and found that the left leg was tied to a pushchair and found no signs of being hurt.”

“The case progressed and at 10 a.m. on March 12, we co-operated with police forces to arrest the Jordanian tourist. He confessed to killing his son by tying him to a stroller and pushing him into the water. He said he had been to Pattaya many times and his wife had agreed to look after the baby. She went outside to bars to party and he did not want to stay alone looking after their son. He said he decided to kill the boy then try to fly home but he was captured at the airport,” he added, Mail Online reported.