Rania Alayed: Human remains found in search for body of murder victim
Police searching for the body of a murder victim have found human remains in North Yorkshire.
Mother of three Rania Alayed was murdered in 2013 by her husband Ahmed al Khatib, of Gorton, Manchester, who was jailed for life the following year.
Her body was never recovered and multiple searches have taken place in the years since then, said Greater Manchester Police (GMP).
Police at the scene along the A19 in Thirsk
On Tuesday, after receiving new information, GMP officers located buried human remains by the A19 in Thirsk.
The force said in a statement: “While no official identification has taken place, we strongly suspect the remains are that of Rania.
“Her family have been informed of the latest development and are being supported by specially trained officers. They remain at the forefront of our minds.”
Ms Alayed’s son, Yazan, speaking on behalf of their family, said: “The discovery of my mother’s remains more than a decade onwards has come as a surreal surprise to me and my family.
“At last, being able to provide a final resting place is all we have wanted for the last 11 years, to have the ability to lay down a few flowers for my mother is more than I can ask for from this world.”
Detective Chief Inspector Neil Higginson, from GMP’s major incident team, said Ms Alayed’s murder was “utterly horrific” and not knowing where her body was had caused further pain to those who knew her.
“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,” he said.
During Mr al Khatib’s trial, a court heard how Ms Alayed was born in Syria and met her husband when she was 15.
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The couple fled the Middle East, eventually moving to England.
They had three children but eventually Ms Alayed left the unhappy marriage which had been marred by violence from her husband, the trial heard.
A 15-year-old boy has died after “getting into difficulty” in a lake in southeast London, police say.
Officers and paramedics were called shortly after 3pm on Friday to Beckenham Place Park in Lewisham.
The Metropolitan Police said a boy “was recovered from the lake” at around 10.42pm the same day.
“He was taken to hospital where he was sadly pronounced dead. His death is being treated as unexpected but not believed to be suspicious,” according to the force.
The boy’s family has been told and are being supported by specialist officers.
The force originally said the child was 16 years old, but has since confirmed his age as 15.
In the earlier statement, officers said emergency services carried out a search and the park was evacuated.
Emergency teams were called to Beckenham Place Park on Friday afternoon
Beckenham Place Park, which borders the London borough of Bromley, covers around 240 acres, according to the park’s website.
The lake is described as 285 metres long, reaching depths of up to 3.5 metres.
It is designed as a swimming lake for open-water swimming and paddle boarding.
A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said on Friday: “We were called at 3.02pm this afternoon to reports of a person in the water.
“We sent resources to the scene, including an ambulance crew, an incident response officer and members of our hazardous area response team.”
Emergency teams have not explained how the boy entered the water, or whether he was accompanied by others.
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