Judge Orders Handover of Dykes Body to Embassy, Remands Suspect in Custody

Mount Lebanon Examining Magistrate Hanna Breidi on Wednesday ordered the handover of the body of slain British diplomat Rebecca Dykes to the UK embassy in Beirut after he interrogated the suspect and remanded him in custody, the National News Agency said.

The embassy will repatriate the body to London aboard a private jet, NNA said.

The driver, identified as Tarek H., has confessed to killing the woman, a judicial source told AFP on Monday.

The driver, 29, with ride-hailing giant Uber admitted strangling the 30-year-old after trying to rape her late on Friday night.

Dykes was last seen alive at a party in Gemmayze on Friday night and left in the suspect's car.

Her body was found dumped on the side of the road north of Beirut early the following evening.

The suspect was arrested on Monday after being tracked down on security camera footage.

A senior security official had told AFP that strangulation was the likely cause of death and added that Dykes was found with a string tied around her neck.

Uber said it was assisting Lebanese authorities in their investigation.

The Lebanese judicial source told AFP the suspect has a criminal past and was arrested twice for alleged harassment and theft related to customers -- a claim refuted by Uber.