The body of Rauth Rashid, a 36 year-old Coptic woman, was found on 28 October inside a car near the village of Deir al-Barsha in Mallawi, Minya some 250km south of Cairo.
Ms Rashid is a mother of three, and is the sister of two priests, Fr Timothy Rashid, Deputy to the Bishop of Mallawi, and Fr Lucas Rashid, priest of al-Rawda Church in Mallawi.
Family members say that Ms Rashid left her home in the village of al-Malkiya al-Qibliya at 7:00 pm on Friday, 27 October. When she did not return until the early hours of 28 October, the family reported her to the police as missing.
Her dead body was found strangled inside a private car near the close-by village of Deir al-Barsha.
Investigations revealed that the car owner was a Coptic man—his name was not declared—and that he had died at 10pm on 27 October of heart attack, in hospital where he had been moved by his brother. His brother is now being questioned by the legal authorities.
The crime has rocked Mallawi, especially given that the victim was well known and respected.
Watani International
29 October 2023