Jordanian father sentenced 30 years for throwing two children into river
The Amman High Criminal Court on Tuesday issued a harsh sentence against a forty-year-old father, sentencing him to 30 years of hard labor for the murder of his two children: a five-year-old girl and her eight-month-old brother.
The court ruled that the father threw his children into the Zarqa River, leaving them to drown, in an act of revenge against his wife following family disputes.
Read more: VIDEO - Authorities find bodies of two children thrown by their father into river
Court ruling: repeated intentional murder
During a public session, the court convicted the father of “repeated intentional murder,” in accordance with Jordanian Penal Code provisions.
The sentence for each murder was combined, resulting in a final sentence of 30 years of hard labor, in addition to court fees and legal costs.
Tragic background: family disputes and revenge motive
According to the court’s decision, the father and the mother lived with their children in Zarqa Governorate. The father reportedly caused ongoing family problems, prompting the mother to leave the home in January 2025 and move to her family’s house.
When she left, the father refused to let her take the children, keeping them with him. From that point, he allegedly began planning revenge, knowing the deep attachment of the mother to her children. The court noted that “his misguided thoughts” led him to see killing the children as a way to inflict maximum psychological harm on their mother.
Failed rescue and manipulation
Two days before the crime, the children’s half-brother (from the mother’s previous marriage) attempted to rescue them, taking them to their mother.
When the father learned of this, he reportedly used legal channels to demand the children be returned, threatening to file an official complaint against the half-brother. Fearing for her older child, the mother complied, returning the children to their father, unknowingly sealing their tragic fate.
The crime: execution of the plan
On the day of the crime, the father rented a car and took his children to a location near the Zarqa River. Upon arrival, he led them to the riverbank and threw them into the water, waiting to ensure they drowned before returning home.
Discovery of the crime
The crime came to light after the mother filed a complaint with the Family Protection Directorate regarding the whereabouts of her children. When authorities contacted the father, his shocking statement, “Your children are at King Talal Dam”, revealed the crime.
Later that evening, the bodies of the two children were recovered, and legal proceedings ultimately resulted in the father’s conviction and sentencing to 30 years in prison.
