Thirty-year-old Rebecca Dykes was meant to be flying home to London from Lebanon for Christmas with her family. She was killed just hours before her scheduled flight.
Dykes had been in Beirut since January this year, working for the British embassy in the Department for International Development. Before that, she was in Libya and Iraq, according to The Telegraph.
Dykes had lived most of her life in different corners of the globe – she grew up partly in Asia, before attending boarding school in the UK. She taught in both China and Hong Kong before joining the Foreign Office.
She was no stranger to travelling alone and – on the night of Friday, December 15 – she attended the night club neighbourhood of Gemmayzeh in Lebanon’s capital for a colleague’s farewell party. She left just before midnight and, according to The Telegraph, autopsy results showed she wasn’t intoxicated – she was likely thinking about her early flight home the next day.
Her body was found on Saturday, December 17, on the side of a dusty motorway. She’d been sexually assaulted and strangled. She’d been dumped between piles of rubbish and plastic bags.
Now, a Lebanese Uber driver has reportedly confessed to her murder, according to The Guardian, and the autopsy revealed Dykes died around 4am, four hours after leaving her friends.
The suspect, Tariq H, was arrested on Monday morning. It's reported he said the crime was not politically motivated.
LISTEN: Amanda Knox is making a TV show. Post continues after audio.
Instead it was a senseless, opportunistic killing that has sent shock waves through Lebanon and the embassy.
As for Dykes' family? Instead of their daughter home for Christmas, they are now planning a funeral. Their lives will never be the same.
"We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Rebecca. We are doing all we can to understand what happened," a family spokesperson said, as reported by The Guardian.
Uber also released a statement, that the company is "horrified" by the crime and working with authorities to conduct an investigation.
Finally, the British ambassador to Lebanon, Hugo Shorter, tweeted: "The whole embassy is deeply shocked, saddened by this news. My thoughts are with Becky’s family, friends and colleagues for their tragic loss."
Top Comments
British embassy worker murdered BY AN UBER DRIVER. How is all this exploitative rideshare working out for everyone? And with the Australian Government cracking down on big companies obfuscating their tax obligations, exactly how much tax does Uber pay in Australia?
What would've stopped him form doing it had he been a taxi driver? He obviously passed their checks etc and it would've been logged with uber that that driver took her... I personally would feel safer using something like uber instead of taxi in countries like that as you get hte exact name and photo of the driver, taxis can be anyone picking you up & they're often not monitored overseas
Don't use something awful to fuel your political agenda
He had drugs charges against him and had done prison time before (or so I read). Personally I'd hope people had been vetted beforehand and criminals not allowed to have jobs where they are in positions of trust and power. Not sure what Uber's policies are against criminals working for them, but whatever the case, I hope they tightening their rules.
Excuse you, ms la di da, but I'll comment as I see fit. There's enough censorship on this site without you adding to the myopic view that fuels the group think on here.
I hope that you tip your uber driver for the privilege of the slave labour you take advantage of (and clearly support) in Australia in 2017 - though I doubt it because you, rather hypocritically, brought up the reason you personally find uber a safe bet while sidestepping the issues I raised.
And while I'm happy you feel safe, clearly, many are not. Security cameras are one small way of offering a safer ride for both driver and passenger but lets not investigate better, safer alternatives to the status quo. You feel safe and that's all that matters, right?
Uber only seems to take action when it is driven to by unfavourable attention which you seem only too happy to deter with your PR blowhorn.
As for using awful things to fuel a political agenda, let me introduce you to the president of the USA..
Uber doesn’t do background or criminal checks on their drivers actually. Convicted rapists and child molesters can be Uber drivers. Taxi companies typically do background checks.