CAIRO: A priest who was found dead in his apartment in Assiut in February was killed during an armed robbery facilitated by his maid, the Ministry of Interior confirmed on Monday. Three men had planned the murder of Priest Dawood Botros Boules of Abo Sayfeen Church in Assiut to rob his house, according to the ministry's statement. The maid facilitated their entrance on Feb. 22. "According to a prior agreement, the maid came to the house on the day of the murder in the morning. She opened the door for the three men who killed the priest and stole his safe, LE 4,000 and a mobile phone," the statement read. "They escaped using a car that had no license plates. They broke the safe to take the jewelry inside and got rid of it by throwing it in the Nile, and then sold the jewelry to a jeweler.” The maid and two of the perpetrators were arrested. The stolen mobile phone and LE 1,200 were found at one of their houses, in addition to the getaway car and the stolen jewelry, the ministry said. The statement said the defendants confessed to the crime. River Rescue Forces were ordered to find the safe and the knife used to kill the priest, which were thrown in the Nile.
