High Point, NC: High Point man charged with murder in wife's death

HIGH POINT —

A High Point man has been charged with murder in the death of his wife, police announced Tuesday.

Patrol officers responded to a domestic disturbance call at 2113 Wingate Place about 2:25 p.m. Monday and found a female inside the residence who had been assaulted and was unconscious.

The victim, Safiya Dadacha, was taken to High Point Regional Hospital. Investigators said her husband, Arab Mohamed Ali, 33, made the call to police.

“He said they’d had a fight and then was really vague about what happened,” said High Point Police Department Capt. Tim Ellenberger. “We could tell she had obviously been assaulted.”

Dadacha, who died on Tuesday, had wounds consistent with a beating and possible strangulation, but detectives are awaiting autopsy results to try to get a better understanding of exactly how she died, he said.

“There was no blood and no broken bones. It’s strange,” Ellenberger said. “I don’t think there was a weapon involved. There was some assault with hands.”

Ali was taken into custody Monday evening after being questioned by detectives. He was charged with murder on Tuesday and was jailed under no bond, pending an initial court appearance.

“When we finally got the doctors to say what it looked like, we started talking to him about what happened, and then we were able to piece it together,” Ellenberger said. “He didn’t confess to killing her, of course, but we were able to piece what he told us together with the evidence on the body, what little there was.”

The couple’s two children, ages 2 and 4, were home at the time, but investigators weren’t sure whether they saw the assault, he said. The family is from Ethiopia.

The children are in the custody of the Department of Social Services, police said.

The residence is one of three two-story units in a building off Brentwood Street in southeast High Point. Dadacha’s death is the first homicide in the city in 2013.

Police said their investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call High Point Crimestoppers at 889-4000 or Lt. Kevin Ray at 887-7830.