Abusive thug stabbed wife on Christmas Eve then said 4 chilling words as he filmed her dying

An abusive husband stabbed his wife 14 times on Christmas Eve and filming her as she lay dying while uttering four chilling words.

Bahaalddin Alshwawrah, 45, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Zeinat Bashabsheh, 42, at a home in Park Na Sillogue Court, Enniskerry, in Co Wicklow, on December 21, 2021. Detective Sergeant Gerard Brennan said Alshwawrah met his future wife online with Ms Bashabsheh travelling to Jordan to meet him. The pair marriage then relocated to Ireland where they went on to have three children. The court also heard how Ms Bashabsheh had two children from a previous relationship.

But on Christmas Eve 2021, Alshwawrah banged on a neighbour's window shouting that he had killed his wife. He then calmly returned to his house and rang someone on his mobile phone.

When two neighbours entered the home, they found Ms Bashabsheh slumped on the floor in a corner of the kitchen, having suffered multiple stab wounds to her torso. Alshwawrah was on the phone at the same time, shouting: "I hope she dies."

Det Sgt Brennan said Alshwawrahs wife had an affair, with the defence claiming he was filming the killing to send to another man. A pathologist determined Bashabsheh had suffered 14 stab wounds that were inflicted with a single-edged blade having been identified.

Det Sgt Brennan said the defendant's phone was analysed with videos showing Ms Bashabsheh in the "final throes of life." He added Alshwawrah did not offer any help to is wife.

The detective said Facebook messages, both written and voice, and was sent by the defendant to an account. A video of Bashabsheh was sent to another account with the message: "I killed my wife."

Alshwawrah claimed he had previously been a victim of violence from his wife on numerous occasions, although no evidence supported this claim. The detective added gardai were able to find evidence that found Alshwawrah had been aggressive and controlling against his wife, as reported by the Irish Mirror.

Ms Bashabsheh managed to obtain an interim barring order against her husband in 2018, having alleged he stabbed her with a knife. Detectives added Alshwawrah had two previous convictions in Jordan, one for simple injury in 1999 and a conviction for simple injury/threats in 2004.

"Our beloved Zeinat was brutally taken from us," Ms Bashabsheh's family said in a victim impact statement. "She was the heart of our family, her presence lit up every room. When we look into the eyes of her children, we see a pain that no child should know,” said the family.

"We now live every day with a hole in our hearts that can never be filled. Each of us has lost a piece of themselves... She did not deserve to die in such a violent, senseless way, and we did not deserve to lose someone so precious to us."

A letter of apology, read out by defence counsel, Michael Bowman SC, revealed Alshwawrah said: "I took away my wife’s life and I will never forgive myself... I wish I could turn back time, but I know this is not possible." He went on to apologise to his children for having to grow up without their parents.

"It’s hard to see what can be salvaged from this wreckage. I wish [the family] well in trying to put this behind them and move forward in life," Mr Justice Hunt said during the sentencing at the Central Criminal Court. Mr Jstice Hunt then imposed a mandatory sentence of life in prison.