"we now strongly believe we have located Rania's body"
Police have found human remains while searching for the body of Rania Alayed, who was the victim of an honour killing.
Her husband Ahmed Al-Khatib is serving life for killing the mother-of-three in Salford in 2013. Her body was never found.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said new information led officers to search near the A19 in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, on February 24, 2025.
Police said the remains discovered there are “strongly suspected” to be Ms Alayed.
Al-Khatib, from Gorton, was convicted in June 2014 and sentenced to life with a minimum of 20 years.
While formal identification is pending, Rania Alayed’s family has been informed.
Her son Yazan said: “Being able to provide a final resting place is all we have wanted.
“To have the ability to lay down a few flowers for my mother is more than I can ask for from this world.”
Ms Alayed, originally from Norton, Teesside, moved to Greater Manchester after suffering years of abuse at Al-Khatib’s hands, the trial heard.
Jurors were told he murdered her in a “pre-planned honour killing” because he believed she had become too westernised and was “establishing an independent life”.
After the murder, Al-Khatib staged an elaborate cover-up.
CCTV showed him wearing a headscarf to impersonate Rania Alayed. He also sent messages to her friends and family to make them believe she was still alive.
Sentencing him, Mr Justice Leggatt said: “The contempt you showed for Rania in death matched the contempt of how you treated her in life.”
Detective Chief Inspector Neil Higginson called the murder “utterly horrific” and said the lack of a body had “inflicted further pain to all those who knew her.”
He added: “More than a decade after her murder, we now strongly believe we have located Rania’s body and are finally able to provide closure to her family, who we know have endured so much pain and grief over the years.”
Police have searched the A19 lay-by for years after one of Al-Khatib’s brothers told officers she was buried there.
Muhaned Al-Khatib, of Salford, admitted perverting the course of justice by moving and hiding her body. He was jailed for three years.
A third brother, Hussain Al-Khatib, of Gorton, was convicted of the same charge and jailed for four years.
Officers have searched the A19 site several times. New information led them to the remains discovered on February 25. A police cordon remains in place.
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