A 41-year-old woman was found decapitated in the kitchen of her Philadelphia home Tuesday afternoon. Police arrested 34-year-old Ahmad Shareef who was found hiding in bushes several blocks away and charged him with murder and abuse of a corpse. Shareef is being held without bail. The victim was identified as Leila Al Raheel. Both are reported to be Syrian immigrants.
Reports state the murder was domestic violence. Neighbors said multiple children and adults lived in the house and that it was the scene of “constant drama” with police called there many times. One said it was a “house of horrors.”
Ahmad Shareef, booking photo.
Initial police report according to WTXF-TV reporter Steve Keeley.
Keeley noted Christmas lights on a timer came on the crime scene home Tuesday night.
Keeley interviewed neighbors:
Neighbors are disturbed learning the details about the alleged incident.
“The yellow house, it’s the worst house on the block. Now it’s like a house of horrors,” Nyjha Richardson said.
Beyond the Christmas Grinch in the front yard, and holiday lights and inside the home in the 300 block of Magee Avenue, is a gruesome crime scene.
…Investigators say Shareef ran from the home covered in blood and was found inside bushes several blocks away near Rising Sun Avenue and Robbins Street in Lawncrest.
According to police, the suspect called family members and told them what happened and admitted he needed his medicine.
“Constant, constant drama for this house,” Richardson said.
Neighbors tell CBS3 multiple adults and children live in the home, and police have been called about it many times.
More from the Philadelphia Inquirer (excerpt):
A nearby resident who asked not to be identified said the occupants were Syrian immigrants who moved in about seven years ago and were welcomed by neighbors, but soon the house became a constant source of chaos, mainly involving men arguing or fighting.
In one year, the police responded to the house a couple of dozen times, the resident said, but the situation calmed down slightly in recent years. The resident described Al Raheel as friendly but quiet, possibly because she was not an English speaker.
Online court records show that Shareef agreed to plead guilty in 2015 for a disorderly conduct arrest that occurred the year prior.
In 2016, Shareef was charged with driving under the influence. The case was not resolved and there remains an active bench warrant for Shareef, court records show.