Man accused of murder shot ex-wife eight times in the head – believed she was a demon
A 63-year-old man denies intentional murder at Copenhagen District Court after shooting his ex-wife in Brønshøj. He explains that he believed she was a demon.
63-year-old denies intentional murder of ex-wife shot eight times in the head
A 63-year-old man appeared on Thursday at Copenhagen District Court, charged with intentionally killing his ex-wife in Brønshøj on 16 June 2025. This is reported by B.T.
The man admits to firing the pistol but denies murder.
– It was just a few seconds, and everything happened quickly. I saw that her appearance changed. I thought that she was a demon, and I became frightened, the defendant explained in court through his Arabic interpreter.
The killing took place at 13.12 near Frederikssundsvej and Brønshøjparken. Shortly afterwards, the man went to Bellahøj Police Station himself to report the incident.
Pistol emptied of ammunition
According to the defendant's own account, he went to his ex-wife's home with the pistol in order to convince her to return to him – alternatively, he would take his own life.
– I intended to tell her that she should come back to me. Otherwise I would kill myself. I thought that when she saw the pistol, she would understand that I was serious, he explained.
He states that he fired because he became frightened, and that he was in shock and cannot remember where from or precisely where on her body he shot her.
Several witnesses heard the shots and found the woman lying lifeless on the ground. Between her legs lay a pistol, which police assessed had been completely emptied of ammunition.
Eight shots to the head from under one metre away
Senior prosecutor Katrine Hansen presented details from the crime scene and the subsequent autopsy during the court hearing. She stated that the deceased had been struck by eight shots to the head, and that these shots were fired from a distance of one metre or less.
Hansen also presented the police's findings from the defendant's telephone, where prior to the killing he had searched for the penalty for manslaughter – and afterwards, whether the voices that a schizophrenic patient hears can lead to murder.
The police further found DNA traces from the defendant on the pistol's trigger and in the magazine.
Restraining order breached repeatedly
The man acknowledges breaching his restraining order against his ex-wife on several occasions prior to the killing and having been in unlawful possession of a semi-automatic pistol.
– There was not a single minute when she was not in my thoughts. I could end up going to her home at all hours of the day and night, he said.
The couple were married in the 1990s and both came to Denmark from Kuwait in 2000. They were granted residence permission in 2004, were married for over 25 years and had five children together. In 2022 they were divorced, and the defendant received a restraining order against his ex-wife the same year, valid for five years.
At the time of the offence, he was residing at a residential facility on Amager.
Request for expulsion
The prosecution has requested expulsion from Denmark with a permanent entry ban. The defendant was not found to be of unsound mind at the time of the offence and has been held in pre-trial detention since the killing.
Source: B.T.