Man Slits Woman's Throat In Front Of University Students For Rejecting His Marriage Proposal

A 21-year-old university student was killed for rejecting a fellow student's marriage proposal in Mansoura, Egypt. The suspect was arrested for allegedly slitting her throat in front of students and passersby outside Mansoura University.

Naiyera Ashraf, 21, was attacked in front of the university’s gate Monday. The Faculty of Arts student was taken to the hospital with injuries on her neck, chest and other areas. She was pronounced dead on arrival, according to Gulf News.

Witnesses said the suspect, Mohamed Adel, 21, was also a student at the university. Bystanders had beaten the suspect up and handed him over to the police after he repeatedly stabbed the victim.

Officials said Adel wanted to marry Ashraf and had proposed to her earlier. But when Ashraf turned down his proposal, Adel wanted to take “revenge,” witnesses said. The suspect had threatened to take Ashraf’s life several times in the past as well.

Investigators spoke to the slain woman’s family and were told that they had requested a restraining order against Adel over two months ago after he started harassing Ashraf, Al Jazeera reported.

When Adel spoke to the police, he explained how he planned Ashraf’s murder before stabbing her in front of their university. He further revealed that he incessantly asked Ashraf to marry him but she rejected him and even blocked him on social media, Egypt Independent reported.

The Public Prosecution said in a statement Tuesday that they “interrogated the suspect regarding the accusations leveled against him, and he confessed to having committed the crime of premeditated murder of the victim due to the differences between them and her refusal to him. He explained in the details of his confession how he planned to commit and execute the crime.”

Officials said Adel will be detained until further proceedings.

Ashraf’s murder in broad daylight has left the people of Egypt in shock and sparked outrage on social media.

“A [sic] long as we do not take the complaints of young women seriously, and as long as we say that those fighting for women’s rights are ‘emboldening girls and causing trouble’, this will be the result,” Nehad Abo el-Komsan, a lawyer and rights advocate, said on Instagram, according to Al Jazeera.

“I cannot process what happened nor imagine the reasons or justifications because no reason whatsoever makes somebody commit such a crime except being ill, all that comes into my mind is her family and how they received the news and their reaction,” Youtuber Khalid Gas wrote in a tweet.