Saulīte’s ex-husband held in murder probe

Police in Ireland have now arrested Baiba Saulīte’s ex-husband and another man as the investigation into the Latvian woman’s apparent murder-for-hire continues.

The press office of the Garda, or Irish police, announced March 8 that a 38-year-old man was being held at the station in Swords while a 24-year-old man was being held at the Malahide police station. Radio Telefís Éireann and other Irish media identified the 38-year-old as Hassan Hassan, Saulīte’s former husband.

The two men are the ninth and 10th suspects to be arrested in the investigation.

Saulīte was gunned down Nov. 19 at her home in Swords, north of Dublin. She was chatting with friends that evening when a man approached and shot her twice. Saulīte’s two sons, subjects of a 2004 custody battle between her and Hassan, were asleep in the house at the time.

Hassan has been serving prison terms for his involvement in an automobile theft scheme and for abducting his sons in 2004 and taking them to the Middle East. Hassan is Lebanese and was in prison at the time of the murder.

The 24-year-old man is described by RTÉ as a member of a gang from Limerick.

Andris Straumanis is a special correspondent for and a co-founder of Latvians Online. From 2000–2012 he was editor of the website.

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