A husband who murdered his wife in an ‘honour killing’ revealed the location of her body to his son during a prison visit before remains were found next to a lay-by.
Ahmed Al-Khatib, 46, from Gorton was found guilty of murdering Rania Alayed and was sentenced to a minimum prison sentence of 20 years in June 2014.
The mother-of-three had gone missing a year before Al-Khatib was put behind bars, but hopes of recovering her body remained slim despite multiple searches – until Monday.
What is believed to be her remains were found by officers next to the A19 in Thirsk in North Yorkshire on February 25, 2024.
Their son Yazan Khatib, 21, revealed yesterday that his father confessed to knowing the body’s location during a two-hour prison visit at HMP Dovegate in Staffordshire – where he is serving life for murder – earlier this year.
Yazan, who was just nine-years-old when his mother died, told Greater Manchester Police (GMP) about the information, with his father later attending the site with force to point out an exact location.
Now the grieving son hopes that once the remains are officially confirmed to be his mother’s so that she can have a ‘proper resting place’.
Recalling the moment his father confessed, he said: ‘He [Ahmed Al-Khatib] told me to approach the police and tell them that he’s ready to review the location. They reviewed it and they started to search on Monday.’
Rania Alayed (pictured) was killed by her husband in 2014, with her remains never found. But new remains found on Monday may possible belong to the mother-of-three
In June 2014, Rania’s husband Ahmed Al-Khatib (pictured), from Gorton, was found guilty of her murder and sentenced to life with a minimum of 20 years imprisonment
He explained that his father had asked for ‘forgiveness’, adding: ‘He has always told me that if there’s anything he can do to bring closure, then I can ask him anything.
‘He said that he told me about the remains for me.
‘There were previously searches of land but they were unsuccessful on purpose, that’s what my dad has told me. He wanted me to wait until I was a grown up so he would explain everything to me.
‘Now that I am an adult and have a bit more of an understanding on me, he said he would disclose the location properly this time and it seems like he has done that.’
The student nurse, who was placed in foster care following his mother’s death and father’s imprisonment at around 13, says he feels that confirming its his mother will provide ‘closure’.
‘I have been wanting to find out where my mum is, so we can provide her a proper resting place, for the last 11 years,’ he said: ‘This is something that has been on my mind every day.’
In a touching tribute to his mother, Yazan described Rania as a ‘fantastic and very kind person.’
‘She was a fantastic mother to me and my two siblings,’ he added: ‘She was studying English at college.
Her son Yazan Khabib (pictured with his mother and his siblings) said if the remains are confirmed to be his mother’s, it will bring their family ‘closure’
The student nurse (pictured) revealed his father had confessed the location of his mother’s body to him, and he then notified police
In a touching tribute to his mother, Yazan described Rania as a ‘fantastic and very kind person.’
‘She was a very kind person and she was just everything a child could ask for when it comes to their mum.’
Yazan,who now visits his father every three months, recalls his parents sometimes arguing as well as going to a police station when his mother died.
He said: ‘I would sometimes here arguments in the house that we were living in at the time.
‘When the incident happened, I remember going to a police station in Manchester – I don’t know where my little sister was at the time. We were then told and were put in foster care.’
His mother, Rania grew up in refugee camps in Syria where she met Al-Khatib, who was nine years older than her. They later married when she was 15 and moved to the UK in 2005.
During Al-Khatib’s trial at Manchester Crown Court, he became increasingly jealous and controlling of Alayed and subjected her to years of domestic and sexual violence.
In January 2013, she reported him to the police for domestic abuse, obtained a non-molestation order and moved into a homeless hostel with Yazan and his two siblings.
Al-Khatib then killed Rania at his brother’s flat in Salford, Greater Manchester and even posed as her on social media and messaged her family, in a bid to pretend she was alive.
An aerial view of police and forensic officers carrying out searches near the A19 for the murdered mother-of-three
Police officers from Manchester Police are carrying out searches near the A19 for Rania
The police search that was launched for the remains of murdered mother-of-three Rania Alayed
On Monday 24 February, officers from Greater Manchester Police began ‘carrying out a detailed search in relation to recovering the body of Rania Alayed’
He told Manchester Crown Court were told that he killed Rania in self-defence after an evil spirit entered her, but he denied murder. He was jailed for a minimum term of 20 years after being found guilty.
Al-Khatib also admitted perverting the course of justice by transporting and concealing Rania’s body.
The prosecution said Rania had been killed for becoming ‘too westernised’ and ‘establishing an independent life’ with Mr Justice Leggatt, sentencing Al-Khatib, saying the mother-of-three had suffered ‘years of abuse.’
His brother Muhanned Al-Khatib was found not guilty of murder and received a three-year term after also admitting perverting the course of justice by transporting and concealing Rania’s body.
A third brother, Hussain Al-Khatibm was jailed for four years for perverting the course of justice.
Detective Chief Inspector Neil Higginson, from Greater Manchester Police’s Major Incident Team, said following the discovery of the remains:
‘More than a decade after her murder, we now strongly believe we have located Rania’s body and are finally able to provide closure to her family, who we know have endured so much pain and grief over the years.
‘Rania’s family have always been kept informed following our searches over the last few years, and we are providing them updates as we get them following this most recent development.
‘Her murder was utterly horrific and not knowing where her body is has inflicted further pain to all those who knew her. I hope that we are now able to finally reunite her with her family, where she belongs, so that they can give her a proper resting place.’
