Murder suspect who faked his own death arrested after 20 years

Shafaq News- Babil

Babil police arrested on Thursday in southern Baghdad a murder suspect who had evaded justice for two decades by faking his own death, after investigators discovered his death certificate was forged.

The case dates to 2005, when the suspect killed a woman in the Al-Hindiya Dam district in western Babil province. The investigation was formally closed in 2019 after authorities received documentation —a death registration issued by the Fallujah Health Directorate— indicating the suspect had died.

During interrogation, the suspect confessed the killing, stating it arose from a family dispute involving the victim and her husband, his own brother. Investigators also uncovered the brother's role in the cover-up: the victim's husband had participated in forging the death certificate to close the file and shield the suspect from prosecution.