Brussels Murder Trial: Ex-Wife Testifies About Suspect’s Character in Leïla Zahiri Case

Called before the court as a character witness, she describes her ex-husband as a calm man. "There were some disputes between us, but not really serious. He would yell a little loud, but there were never any blows. He never hit me. I was fine with him, but he couldn’t stand my son, who has autism and would often scream," she explained. While expressing her sadness at Leïla Zahiri’s death, she does not think he could have committed this murder, he who is rather "introverted and calm," reports La Capitale.

On September 4, 2019 around 10 a.m., the lifeless body of Leïla Zahiri, a 51-year-old mother of three, was found in her apartment on Rue du Korenbeek in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean. According to the testimony of the owner of the apartment who came to check a reported water leak by the neighbors, the victim was stabbed in her bathroom.

The police called to the scene indicated that the victim bore signs of strangulation by a ligature around the neck. She had about thirty knife wounds to the chest and a significant hematoma on her jaw. Investigators quickly explored the trail of the accused Abdelkader Bouajaja, a 49-year-old kitchen assistant who was in a romantic relationship with the victim.

Questioned, he admitted to having had an argument with the victim the day before the discovery of the body. He confessed that Leïla Zahiri had tried to hit him with a knife but that he had managed to disarm her and had inflicted two knife blows on her. Curiously, he claims not to remember what really happened, being under the influence of cocaine and alcohol.