Man charged with Heathrow suitcase murder

A former air steward was charged today with the murder of a woman found in a suitcase at Heathrow airport.

The body of Moroccan-born Fatima Kama, 28, a Canadian citizen, was discovered abandoned on an airport trolley on July 17 1999.

Youseff Ahmed Wahid, a former steward for Kuwaiti Airlines, was charged by Scotland Yard detectives in London this morning after he was arrested in Bahrain last month.

Ms Kama was found by a security guard in the foetal position with multiple stab wounds and a slashed throat.

Wahid, 41, of no fixed abode, was due to appear before City of Westminster magistrates this afternoon.

Ms Kama was a trainee accountant with singing ambitions, she was born in Morocco but had been a Canadian citizen for two years.

She was a regular visitor to London who arrived for the last time on July 10 1999 on a return ticket to Canada. She was due to fly back to Montreal the evening she was killed.

Her body was found after a security officer was alerted to an unattended black fabric suitcase, bearing the motif Black Paw New York, on the third floor of the terminal three car park.

A post-mortem examination at Ealing Hospital mortuary revealed she suffered multiple stab wounds.

Wahid, who was arrested on August 24 in Bahrain, arrived at Heathrow airport today at 6.30am.