Dec. 18 (UPI) — Police in Lebanon arrested a Uber driver in the slaying of a woman working in the British Embassy in Beirut, officials said Monday.
Lebecca Dykes, 30, from London, was found dead Saturday morning on the side of a highway outside Beirut.
The Guardian reported that a man identified as Tariq H. was arrested. The BBC reported the man was 35 and has served several prison sentences.
A source told the Guardian that the killing was not politically motivated.
Dykes reportedly had hired the driver after spending Friday evening at a going-away party for a colleague in the Gemmayzeh district of Beirut. After leaving the bar at about midnight, it appears she was abducted.
The suspect was arrested Monday morning after police reportedly traced his car.
Uber said in an email: “We are horrified by this senseless act of violence. Our hearts are with the victim and her family. We are working with authorities to assist their investigation in any way we can.”
Dykes had not been raped, according to two autopsies, but investigators believe the suspect had attempted to sexually assault her.
“She was a very cautious, astute and highly intelligent woman,” a friend of Dykes told Sky News. “She had the highest level of security training.
“She wasn’t the kind of girl to be walking around on her own.”
Dykes was a policy and program manager with Britain’s Department for International Development. She previously worked in Libya and Iraq as a policy manager and research analyst with Britain’s Foreign Office.
