Kerry Winter's ex confesses
2009-03-20 14:02
Dubai - A Dubai prosecutor has charged a British man with the premeditated murder of his ex-girlfriend after he confessed to assaulting her and dumping her body in the sea, newspapers reported on Friday.
Mark Arnold, 42, has admitted assaulting South African Kerry Winter, 36, outside her villa in Dubai on August 20, the English-language daily 7Days quoted prosecutor Khalifa bin Demas as saying.
"The suspect... also told investigators that he bought some weights from a shop in Dubai, tied them to her and dumped her in the sea," 7Days quoted the prosecutor as saying.
Arnold was charged with premeditated murder, he said.
Dubai Attorney General Issam al-Humaidan told the newspaper that Winter's body had not been found despite an intensive search by frogmen.
Arnold had told investigators that he argued with Winter and hit her on the head with a wooden stick until she bled and fell to the ground, the Emarat al-Youm newspaper said.
Alerted by Winter's screams, two of her housemates tried to intervene but Arnold chased them with a baseball bat, the paper added.
Arnold has been in custody since August and has already received a one-month jail sentence for endangering the life of one of Winter's housemates, the report said.
His lawyer, Yousuf Hammad, told the Gulf News daily that Arnold was not guilty.
"My client has pleaded not guilty to the charge of premeditated murder, which is uncorroborated," Hammad said.
No date has been set for the trial.
