Police have charged a woman with the murder of Mamdouh Noufl more than a year after he went missing. Photo / NSW Police
Police have charged a woman with the murder of Mamdouh Noufl more than a year after he went missing. Photo / NSW Police
An Australian woman who allegedly butchered and binned her husband’s body before impersonating him on social media to disguise his death has been charged with murder.
NSW Police appealed for information in their search for 62-year-old Mamdouh Noufl in August 2023 – he had not been seen since May that year.
His disappearance was deemed suspicious after officers were called to a home on Juno Parade at Greenacre in Sydney’s west following a concern for welfare report from family friends.
Almost 18 months later, 53-year-old Nirmeen Noufl is in custody charged with her husband’s murder.
She was formally refused bail in court on Friday and is due to return in December.
Noufl’s death was brutal, macabre and bizarre, NSW Police homicide commander Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty said, adding that police have enough evidence to allege his wife murdered him.
“We will allege, also, that she butchered and dismembered his body, placed his body parts in plastic bags and then disposed of his remains in various rubbish bins in residential areas and industrial areas of southwest Sydney,” Det Supt Doherty said on Saturday.
“His remains have never been located and I doubt they will ever be.”
NSW police allege Nirmeen Noufl murdered her husband and dismembered his body. Photo / NSW Police
Noufl allegedly attempted to cover up the crime by spinning a web of lies and misinformation after disposing of the body.
“We will allege ... the accused had taken over Mamdouh’s phone and social media accounts purporting that he would still be alive,” Detective Superintendent Doherty said.
“That probably delayed some of the investigations and also was probably a ruse to disguise the fact that he had been killed.”
Noufl’s bank accounts were used after his disappearance until police began investigating.
Nirmeen Noufl would have allegedly received significant financial benefit from her husband’s death, Doherty said.
Police will allege “she’s a person that manipulates people and manipulates the truth”, he added.
Husband murdered and dismembered with knives, power saw
Noufl was arrested on Thursday after she admitted herself to an acute mental health unit at Bankstown Hospital, Det Supt Doherty said.
The Greenacre home was also examined on Thursday.
Police will allege it had been extensively cleaned and new flooring installed after Noufl was murdered and dismembered with knives and a power saw.
Homicide detectives took over the investigation in January and were assisted by the NSW Crime Commission.
Police were unable to specifically detail how Noufl died, only that his wife was allegedly solely responsible for intentionally killing him.
There was no record of previous interactions with police concerning domestic violence, Det Supt Doherty said.
The pair had eight children, who are adults, however, none of them are believed to have been involved.
“They have lost their father in a brutal and macabre manner,” Det Supt Doherty said.
Noufl has retained her right to silence.
If convicted, she could spend the rest of her life in prison under laws preventing the parole of killers who refuse to co-operate in the search for victim remains.
