Couple accused of husband's muder

ABU DHABI // A Filipina and a Syrian man said to be her lover have been arrested after their affair allegedly led to murder, according to police. The pair have been charged with killing the woman's Emirati husband, aged 60. The woman, 39, identified as L C, called police to her Bani Yas marital home this morning after her three children found their father, M H N, dead in his bed, said Sheikh Mohammed bin Tahnoun, the deputy director of the Bani Yas police station. The woman told police that after dinner the previous night her husband had taken his diabetes medication with milk and water and gone to sleep, Sheikh Mohammed said. The family discovered him dead when they went to call him for breakfast. But police found blood on the man's face and knees, Sheikh Mohammed said, and investigators had concluded that he had been strangled. Police learnt that P F, a Syrian man, 42, who was living on the second floor of the house and working at a restaurant, partly sponsored by M H N, was also present on the night of the death. The children told police that the man was having an affair with their mother. The man denied involvement in M H N's death, or having an affair, said Col Maktoum al Shuraifi, the director of the criminal investigations department. The man told police he was M H N's friend and colleague. Lab tests, however showed the presence of remnants of the victim's skin cells under the accused fingernails, Col Shuraifi said, adding that DNA tests revealed two of L C's children were fathered by P F. Police believed P F and L C were both involved in the murder, Col Shuraifi said. sdin@thenational.ae