Egypt's 'Butcher of Maamoura' serial killer sentenced to death for killing three

The Alexandria Criminal Court on Sunday sentenced lawyer Nasr El Din El Sayyid to death by hanging, concluding one of Egypt's most disturbing murder cases in recent years.

Branded by local media as the 'Butcher of Maamoura', al-Sayyid was convicted of three premeditated murders committed over several years, with victims including his wife and two clients.

The verdict, a first-instance ruling, came after Egypt's Grand Mufti approved the court's request for a religious opinion on the execution - a customary step in capital cases. Judge Mahmoud Issa Sirag, who presided over the case, confirmed that the court had also reviewed psychiatric evaluations to verify the defendant’s mental fitness.

According to the prosecution, serial killer al-Sayyid, aged 52, used his legal status and personal ties to lure victims before murdering them and burying their bodies in rented apartments. Investigators described the crimes as calculated, gruesome, and professionally concealed - delaying discovery for years.

The first victim was al-Sayyid’s 'urfi (unofficial) wife, known to the court only by her initials M.F.Th., a housewife with whom he had an ongoing dispute.

He killed her inside an apartment in Maamoura, a suburb of Alexandria, and buried her body beneath the tiled floor. He later murdered one of his clients, T.A.R., who had been pressing him to return money he had taken. She was buried beside his wife in the same apartment.

The third victim, M.E.M., an engineer with business ties to the defendant, had been missing for more than three years. His remains were eventually found in a separate rented apartment in the Asafra district, several kilometres away from the other crime scene.

Police say the killer used a combination of strangulation and blunt force to carry out the murders.

After each crime, he sealed the corpses with layers of cement and sand to suppress odours and avoid detection; his low profile in the neighbourhoods where the apartments were located further delayed suspicion.

The investigation gained momentum only after neighbours in Maamoura reported hearing a woman screaming inside one of the apartments. When police arrived, they uncovered the buried bodies of the first two victims, triggering a wider inquiry that ultimately led to the third.

Security officials said al-Sayyid exploited his legal knowledge and personal connections to commit crimes driven by a mix of financial and personal motives. In each case, he allegedly stole money or property from his victims.

Public reaction to the case has been one of shock and outrage.

As each new detail emerged, the case dominated headlines and flooded social media, with many expressing disbelief at why the crimes could have gone undetected for so long. Suspicion about the defendant's mental state - after his erratic behaviour in court - prompted a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation.

But a medical committee confirmed in late June that al-Sayyid was fully sane and criminally responsible at the time of the killings.

The court’s ruling is subject to appeal.