Mohammad Al Shaker Al Tamimi, who was arrested on Tuesday in connection with the investigation into the fatal assault of eight-year-old Malika Noor Al Katib in New Ross, Co Wexford, was formally charged today, December 4.
The 34-year-old who has an address at Lower William Street in New Ross, Co Wexford was brought before Judge Kevin Staunton at Gorey District Court in Co Wexford on Wednesday evening after being charged.
RTÉ News reports that Mohammad Al Shaker Al Tamimi has been charged with the murder of Malika Al Katib, and the attempted murder of Malika's mother, 31-year-old Aisha Al Katib.
According to the New Ross Standard, an application was made for Al Tamimi to be remanded in custody, while defence counsel Tim Cummings noted there were no instructions to apply for bail from his client.
Al Tamimi will be remanded in Garda custody to appear before Wexford District Court on Monday, December 9, via video link.
Judge Staunton has granted a psychological evaluation of Al Tamimi, and an Arabic translator has been requested for his appearance on Monday.
Gardaí and emergency services attended a domestic residence in New Ross on Sunday at approximately 11:45 pm. According to the Irish Times, the location is a private residence in Lower William Street, an area known locally as Jones’s Hill.
Gardaí said on Monday that Malika was taken to University Hospital Waterford for treatment. She passed away from her injuries in the early hours of Monday.
Mohammad and Aisha also received treatment at University Hospital Wexford. Their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, Gardaí said on Monday.
Aisha is reportedly Irish and was a convert to Islam.
A post-mortem examination was conducted on Malika by State Pathologist Dr. Sally Anne Collis on Monday. The results will not be released for operational reasons, Gardaí said on Tuesday.
The Irish Mirror reported on Wednesday that, according to a source, the suspect, a foreign national, was recently released from prison in the UK, where he had served a sentence for an offence.
He then came back to New Ross in Co Wexford, where he had been living for several years before his imprisonment.
“He only came back a matter of days before the stabbings,” the source told The Irish Mirror.
“He had been serving a prison sentence in England. As soon as he got out, he came back to New Ross.”
A source further told The Irish Mirror that when the row broke out on Sunday night, Malika heard Aisha screaming and ran downstairs to see what was happening.
When Malika reached the ground floor, she saw Aisha being stabbed and ran to help her. But sources confirmed the man turned the knife on Malika and cut her throat in front of Aisha.
“Aisha tried to help Malika but she had been stabbed herself,” a source said. “But she managed to get to the front door where she screamed for help to the neighbours.”
The man then turned the knife on himself, but received only superficial wounds, according to The Irish Mirror. He was taken to University Hospital Waterford along with Malika and Aisha after gardai rushed to the scene when neighbours raised the alarm.
On Monday, Therese White, Principal of New Ross Educate Together National School where Malika was a student, described the incident as a "terrible tragedy," while local Councillor Michael Sheehan said the "community is numb. Nobody knows what to say, nobody knows what to do."
Malika was a part of the Islamic community in Wexford and Waterford. RTÉ News reported on Tuesday that the main suspect is a UK resident who has residency status there for many years and is not an asylum seeker.
Meanwhile, the Irish Times noted on Tuesday: "Amid misinformation about the killing, including content spread by far-right agitators on social media, Garda sources said nobody who was applying for international protection in the Republic, or had ever applied, was linked to the case. They added there was also no racial component to the incident."
Imam Rashid Munir, the imam at the Waterford Al-Munir Islamic Centre, told RTÉ News at One on Tuesday that he knew Malika personally and that her death has been "heartbreaking" for the community.
On Wednesday, the PA reported that when Malika’s body is released back to her family, Aisha will be a part of preparing her daughter's body for her burial.
Imam Munir told the PA: “That’s a very important ritual for any deceased in Islam. Somebody dies, and after that, we have to do the washing, what we call, in Arabic, ‘Ghusl’ washing and cleansing.
“And that must be done. We will see the situation and the condition of the mother if she is able, although I have advised her to go."
The imam continued: “For the first seven, eight years, especially for a mother, she does everything for her own child, from tying the laces of the shoes, to feeding her, to giving bath, changing the clothes, ironing the clothes, everything. So probably this is the last thing she can do for her own daughter.
“That’s what I advised her, to gather herself, and I don’t know where she’s going to bring that strength and power to give last bath to her own daughter and, Inshallah, we’ll try our best to bring her for the washing, along with her there will be Muslim sisters.
“Inshallah, they will be doing all the washing, which takes about 30 to 45 minutes, and right after that, Inshallah, we arrange the burial, and we bring the body to the Kilbarry cemetery in Ballybeg and bury her there.”
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