N.C. man accused of killing his wife and throwing her body into a lake
09/22/2023 2:29 pm PDT
APEX N.C. (TCD) -- Investigators have arrested a 34-year-old man on suspicion of killing his wife after her body was found in a lake last month.
On Tuesday, Aug. 29, a boater on Jordan Lake contacted the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office after noticing a body in the water near Farrington Point Boat Ramp. Deputies arrived at the scene and recovered the victim, who they later identified as Hadeel Ghadhanfer Hikmat, 34, by using fingerprint analysis.
The Sheriff’s Office said investigators "believe her death was neither accidental nor self-inflicted."
On Sept. 19, a little less than a month after she was found, Hikmat’s husband, Omar Matthew Ibrahim Drabick, was taken into custody on charges of first-degree murder and concealment of an unnatural death.
According to WTVD-TV, Hikmat was born in Iraq, majored in chemical engineering, and moved to North Carolina last year following her marriage to Drabick. Her brother, Firas Hikmat, lives in Istanbul and told WTVD Hikmat was "so ambitious, so dedicated." Firas Hikmat alleged his sister and Drabick argued because she kept in touch with her relatives overseas.
Firas Hikmat contacted the Apex Police Department and reported her missing because she stopped returning his text messages.
Firas Hikmat told WTVD, "We lost our sister. We want justice."
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