Father Drugged His 2 Children to Death Before Trying to Kill Himself
A father has drugged his two children – aged 5 and 7 – to death before trying to kill himself by lighting his apartment on fire.
Police identified the killer as Muwaffaq Deeb al-Qaissi, 50, a mechanical engineer who had worked in the U.S. for 20 years only to return home four years ago. He remained jobless throughout the four years.
Qbaissi is divorced from his wife, Wisal Maamoun, who is the mother of the victims — Adam, 5, and Omar, 7.
The daily al-Liwaa on Tuesday said Qbaissi”s apparently committed the crime to take revenge on his wife.
According to police, the tragic incident took place Sunday evening, but the information was only revealed early Monday when Qbaissi”s brother realized something was wrong after he got disconnected from a call with his brother.
The brother rushed to the apartment in Dawhit Aramoun southeast of Beirut only to find the two boys lying dead on bed, hands tied together, with their father beside them trying in vain to breathe after setting the house on fire.
Police and coroner officials, who were called to the scene, said Qbaissi drugged his boys with at least five pills each of Lexotanil and Stilonox sedatives dissolved in fruit juice.
An Nahar newspaper, citing preliminary investigation, said Qbaissi — who suffers psychological disorders, including hallucinations — and his ex-wife were facing a lot of problems as well as several pending lawsuits.
The mother was given guardianship over the boys who were allowed to visit their father twice a week.
An Nahar quoted sources involved in the investigation as saying that Qbaissi claimed he did not mean to kill his children "but wanted to calm down the boys who seemed tensed."