A Lebanese Uber driver has confessed to killing a British diplomat who was found raped and strangled on the side of a road.
Rebecca Dykes, 30, was found early Saturday on the side of the Metn highway in Beirut and the driver accused of slaying and sexually assaulting her is expected to be charged later this week, officials said.
“For Becky to have her life cruelly taken away in these circumstances is devastating to our family. Becky is simply irreplaceable and we will never fully recover from this loss,” the woman’s family said in a statement.
Authorities believe Dykes, who was working as a program and policy manager at the British embassy, spent Friday evening at a going-away party for a colleague.
She hailed a car using the ride-sharing app at around midnight and her body was discovered at approximately 4 a.m.
The driver, named only as Tariq H, 41, was arrested Monday morning and confessed to the crime, sources said. He had reportedly served several prison sentences for drug use prior to Dykes’ killing.
“We are horrified by this senseless act of violence,” a spokesman for Uber said. “Our hearts are with the victim and her family. We are working with authorities to assist their investigation in any way we can.”’
Officials said the killing had not been politically motivated, but the murder has shaken the Lebanon expat community, where such crimes are rare and foreigners generally feel safe.
“The whole embassy is deeply shocked, saddened by this news,” British Ambassador to Lebanon Hugo Shorter tweeted Sunday. “My thoughts are with Becky’s family, friends and colleagues for their tragic loss.”
With Post Wires
