EL-DIB Homicide Investigation

The investigation into the murder of Nadia EL-DIB is considered concluded. As there will not be any court proceedings, we are able to release the following details at the request of the victim’s family.

Investigators have determined that Adam BETTAHAR legally purchased a semi-automatic rifle on March 10, 2018.

On Sunday, March 25, police believe BETTAHAR and Nadia left a downtown shisha bar together at approximately 3 a.m. Around 4 a.m., Nadia contacted a friend to express her frustration that BETTAHAR refused to return her to her vehicle, which was parked near the shisha bar.

At approximately 4:15 a.m., BETTAHAR parked the vehicle they were in behind a home in the 1000 block of Maitland Drive N.E. Shortly after, while still in the vehicle, BETTAHAR stabbed the victim approximately 40 times and cut her throat. Despite her injuries, Nadia escaped the vehicle before being shot by BETTAHAR and falling to the ground in the nearby backyard.

Video evidence collected during the investigation shows two muzzle flashes were subsequently fired. Forensic evidence at the scene is consistent with Nadia being down on the ground when the second shot was fired.

Although witnesses later reported hearing the gunshots, police were not called until 9:30 a.m., for a report that a body had been found.

Police believe that Nadia and BETTAHAR had been previously seeing each other in late 2017, however were not in a relationship at the time of the homicide. This is considered a domestic homicide. Police had no prior involvement with the Nadia and Adam before the night of the murder.

Domestic violence is a very real problem in our community and it crosses all neighbourhoods, age groups, ethnicities, religions and economic statuses.

In total, police received 18,528 domestic conflict calls last year, a six per cent increase over the five-year average. The vast majority of these calls are verbal altercations that escalated to the point that police were called, or situations where one party has asked police to be present while they moved out of their home due to domestic conflict.

4,973 domestic conflict calls were classified as domestic violence because they involved some form of physical violence. This is a 45 per cent increase from the 5-year average.

While the majority of domestic conflict victims are women, approximately one in five are men.

The Calgary Police Service Domestic Conflict Unit works closely with partner agencies to intervene in families experiencing frequent domestic conflict. We encourage anyone that is experiencing abuse or violence in an intimate relationship to reach out for help. There are countless agencies ready to offer support that can be contacted by calling Connect Family & Sexual Abuse Network at 403 -237-5888 (Toll Free: 1-877-237-5888), the 24-hour Family Violence Helpline at 403-234-SAFE (7233), or 211.

If you are in immediate danger, call 9-1-1 immediately.

Case #18130208/3445