Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Philadelphia police in the US state of Pennsylvania are searching for a 19-year-old woman accused of stabbing to death Saudi scholarship student Al-Walid Al-Gharibi inside his residential building.

The police offered a reward of $20,000 for those providing information leading to the arrest and conviction of the fugitive suspect Nicole Marie Rodgers, 19, from Columbus, Georgia. The police charged the woman with murder, robbery, burglary, and theft.

It happened on Monday, Jan. 23, around 11:50 a.m. inside a home on the 300 block of Hansberry Street in Germantown, Philadelphia. Police say officers found a 25-year-old man suffering a stab wound to the neck in the third-floor bathroom. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

The 25-year-old student was preparing to finish his scholarship journey as he had two months to complete the graduation course before returning to the Kingdom. It was found that the suspected killer stole his mobile phone and other valuables before fleeing the scene.

According to police, the suspect could be driving a 2017 black Kia Sorento with the Georgia license plate number CUS-1413. The police did not say what caused the incident or whether the suspect knew the victim. The police urged anyone who have information about the suspect to pass over it.

Meanwhile, the uncle of Al-Walid gave more details about the gruesome crime. Speaking to Okaz/Saudi Gazette, he said that the woman suspect was a neighbor of Al-Walid living in the apartment opposite his apartment and that the body of the student was found in the bathroom of the suspected murderer.

He denied reports being circulated in some news websites that the perpetrator of the crime took advantage of the victim’s offer of furniture that he wanted to sell as a ploy to carry out her crime.

The suspect was planning to carry out the crime some time ago, the uncle said while pointing to the initial indications of the investigation. The suspect was apparently preparing to vacate her apartment and subsequently asked Al-Walid to help her carry some of the belongings that she claimed she could not carry by herself. When he came out to help her, she attacked him with the knife that she hid.

Al-Walid’s uncle said that his nephew received stab wounds in his neck. Though he tried to resist, he was unable to do so as she started stabbing him several times fatally. The suspect then kept the victim’s body inside the bathroom of her apartment and closed its door.

A neighbor of Al-Walid informed the police about the crime. When the neighbor heard the noise of the crime and asked about it, the suspect tried to befool him saying that these sounds were caused by her dog. “When the neighbor found her perplexed, he searched the perpetrator's apartment and was suspicious of the closed bathroom door. Al-Walid was found lying in a pool of blood when the door was opened and then he informed the police.

Al-Walid had one subject left for his graduation in computer science before returning to his homeland. The victim’s father was in Pennsylvania to follow up on the investigation and get the perpetrator arrested and brought to justice.