British diplomat Rebecca Dykes left a work party and ordered an Uber but the driver raped and killed her, dumping her body by the side of a road. Photo / Supplied
British diplomat Rebecca Dykes left a work party and ordered an Uber but the driver raped and killed her, dumping her body by the side of a road. Photo / Supplied
A Lebanese Uber driver who confessed to murdering a 30-year-old British diplomat in December 2017 has been sentenced to death.
Uber driver Tariq Houshieh was driving Rebecca Dykes home after her night out in the Lebanese capital in December 2017, according to the New York Post.
Instead ofsafely dropping her off at home, Houshieh raped and choked her to death with a rope before dumping her body along the Matn highway.
Ms Dykes, a program and policy manager at the British embassy, spent the evening at a going-away party in the city's Gemmayzeh neighbourhood before hailing Houshieh's Uber vehicle, according to Sky News.
British diplomat Rebecca Dykes left a work party and ordered an Uber but the driver raped and killed her, dumping her body by the side of a road. Photo / Supplied
She called the Uber driver at around midnight and her body was discovered at about 4am.
Houshieh had been working for Uber despite reports that he had a criminal record.
The driver tried to cover his tracks by disposing of Ms Dykes' purse and any identification papers only to be caught a few days later after police tracked his car using surveillance cameras.
Houshieh later confessed to the "senseless" crime.
The young woman's family launched the Rebecca Dykes Foundation to improve the lives of refugees and vulnerable communities in Lebanon following her murder.
They said she was "simply irreplaceable" and "wanted to make the world a better place."
Friends said she was expected to fly back to the Uk for Christmas on the day her body was discovered.
