Investigations are ongoing in Mallawi, Minya, into the case of the murder of Rauth Rashid, a 36 year-old Coptic woman who was found strangled
inside a car near the village of Deir al-Barsha in Mallawi, Minya some 250km south of Cairo. The authorities are currently waiting for the forensic report following an autopsy.
Ms Rashid had been married for over 17 years and had two daughters from that marriage. She is the sister of two priests, Fr Timothy Rashid, Deputy to the Bishop of Mallawi, and Fr Lucas Rashid, priest of al-Rawda Church in Mallawi.
Following yesterday’s hasty media report on the crime, a few facts have been revealed.
Whereas the media reported that family members had said that Ms Rashid left her home in the village of al-Malkiya al-Qibliya at 7:00 pm on Friday 27 October and was reported missing at the early hours of 28 October, official accounts place these dates respectively as Thursday 26 October and Friday 27 October.
Ms Rashid’s body was found fully dressed on the rear seat of the car with her neck thrown back, family members told the media.
Initial investigations revealed that the car owner was a Coptic man in his thirties—his name was not declared—and that he had died at 10pm on 26 October of heart attack, in hospital where he had been moved by his brother. His brother is now being questioned by the legal authorities. The authorities later announced that the car owner actually died on Thursday 26 October of a heart attack.
The crime has rocked Mallawi, given that the victim was well known and respected. — Watani International
