Egyptian senior judge accused of killing his second wife arrested east of Cairo

A senior Egyptian judge, who had allegedly murdered his wife, 42-year-old TV host Shaimaa Gamal, has been arrested, the interior minister announced on Thursday in a statement posted on Facebook.

The authorities managed to locate the suspect, Ayman Hagag, via advanced technological tools, in Suez province, east of the capital Cairo, the statement added.

The suspect, who holds the position of a vice president of the state council, reported his wife missing after she had been seen last with him at a mall in Giza province, southwest of the capital Cairo, about three weeks ago.

The circumstances behind her disappearance and death were revealed after an alleged accomplice came forward and reported to the authorities the whereabouts of Gamal's buried body.

The autopsy report showed that she was killed by a blunt force trauma to the head after being hit by a magazine of a gun. Her face was burned with a chemical acid in an attempt to hide her identity.

The accomplice said that Gamal was the judge's second wife whom he married in secret without his first wife knowing.

A prosecutor ordered the accomplice's detention, pending further investigations.

The motive behind the crime remains uncertain, but some media outlets reported that Gamal threatened the husband that she would inform his first wife of their secret marriage.  

It remains unclear whether Hagag has been interrogated yet after his arrest.