More details are emerging about the circumstances surrounding a 24-year-old British teacher’s death in Qatar, but many questions still remain.
Three separate sources have told Doha News that the body of Lauren Patterson, who disappeared over the weekend, was found in the desert this week.
But friends have said DNA testing to prove a positive identification is still pending. This is because the body was burned beyond recognition, inquiries at the mortuary of Hamad Hospital have revealed.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Patterson’s mother, Alison, said she and her brother are in Doha to “fight for justice” for Lauren. The newspaper reports:
“Speaking publicly for the first time since the murder, Mrs Patterson, 48, she said it had been ‘extremely stressful’ waiting for forensic results to confirm the body was her daughter’s.
But she praised authorities in the Gulf state for their thorough investigation – which saw police arrest two local men who have now made confessions.”
Yesterday, Qatar’s Ministry of Interior announced that arrests have been made in connection to the murder of a European woman, but Doha News is unable to verify the number or nationality of the suspects.
However, in an email, a family friend of the Pattersons told us:
“The family of Lauren Patterson spoke with the Daily Mail yesterday and released a few facts regarding Lauren. They asked friends this morning to share the article link as these are the facts (as) opposed to all the other reports in the media.”
Patterson, who had returned from the UK to Doha after her grandmother’s funeral on Friday, was last seen by friends late Friday night/early Saturday morning.
Patterson’s mother and her Malta-based boyfriend launched a search for the teacher on Sunday, but hours later posted messages on Facebook saying she had died.
The British embassy in Doha, which is providing assistance to the family, has not made any public statements about the crime beyond confirming that Patterson was missing. Calls and emails from Doha News have not been returned since Monday.
Patterson’s uncle, Brian Roake, thanked the embassy for its assistance when speaking to the Daily Mail. He added: “We have had a high-level meeting with senior officials in Qatar who are leaving no stone unturned.”
Thoughts?
It is good the family are happy with the investigation so far and that the police and government are taking this horrendous case very seriously. What a shocking way to go for this poor lady, all that is left now is justice for the family.
Let’s hope Qatar’s judicial system and PR do a better job than in recent cases. If they want to be a world player, then they are putting themselves in the spotlight. So far their report card says, “must do better”
remember we dont have much experience with cases like this, qatar isnt exactly the crime hub of the world. so were new to everything from the police work, legal system and PR so i highly doubt there wont be mistakes but hope there wont be. sadly i dont think we will continue to enjoy our status as a nation with one of the worlds lowest crime rates, looking at how fast our crime rate is increasing were gona have to adapt quickly to handel cases like this better in the future (although so far there not doing a bad job here)
I agree. And I hope they will have the sense to bring in outside assistance in some of the technical areas in which Qatar’s police may lack the technical expertise/experience. As the victim was English I would hope the British government is offering assistance from Scotland Yard. I know the FBI regularly assists in similar cases involving Americans.
Yes, Doha, while still enjoying a low crime rate, is starting to experience some of the negative sides of being a cosmopolitan city. Hopefully some good decisions can be made now to keep it from getting out of control, as it has in other cities. Catching and severely punishing the culprits in a very visible way will be a good start.
Its a sad case indeed and I agree.I am very pleased the police were successfull in arresting those charged.That is very important and although I may feel the PR angle and ability of news to deliver information is not what I agree with or am used to, I feel better.You are correct.You may find that resources will be forthcoming and the police may get those mobile criminal investigation labs and better training.And yes, the influx of expats will affect the crime rate, just by the shear numbers involved.
Yes, because Qatar’s occasional horrific crime that makes the news stands out far more than the numerous similar crimes that occur on a daily basis in places like the United States of America where things can take just as long to go through the court systems. Of course they can then blame the backlog on the number of cases waiting to go to trial.
Occasional? I know of least four deaths/murders in the last 12 months but of course most are never reported, especially Qatari on Qatari murders. As for rape, this is very common but just don’t get reported and conviction rates, well I can’t remember one.
Qatar has a similar murder rate per 100,000 as the UK.
Just pointing the finger at someone or something else is a juvenile way to debate and does not address to the question at hand.
Bear in mind that the UK is the most under surveillance city in the world, which may very well be a factor why the crime rate matches Qatar. Theoretically speaking If Qatar matches the UK now yet has hardly any cctv, then would this indicate that the crime rate will hit astronomical highs as we hurtle towards 2022
I suggest this family try to contact the Robert Brown Family in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, USA> Last November their daughter Jennifer Brown was violently murdered while in Qatar teaching. Obviously there are issues protecting these foreign teachers. God Bless.
What possible relevance does her chosen career have to do with anything? Lauren Patterson could have worked in any field and i doubt the tragic outcome would have been any different. I think it’s quite limiting to call for better protection for people in one job in particular when it would appear from anecdotes on here it’s the attitude towards / the protection of women generally that seems to be a major issue that needs addressing.
Certainly single Western women need to be made more aware of the dangers that exist in Qatar, regardless of profession.
I think that regardless of location there are certain actions females need to take to protect themselves. Being seen leaving a bar at a late hour and assumedly under the influence of alcohol with a group of men probably isn’t a recommended method of staying safe in any country.
They have been victims of horrible acts of violence and the situations are similar that they are foreign workers teaching in a foreign land and at a minimum what should be looked at is there adequate protection provided for them that could have prevented or protected them from their killers/stalkers.
What has teaching got to do with anything? Take the word “teaching” out of your comment and it makesmore sense. It doesn’t matter whether they were teachers, nurses, bankers…
Thank you for the update.
Terrible tragedy for this family. I hope justice is better served than in the Villagio case and that the Qatar authorities get it sorted quickly.
May you rest in peace Lauren.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2463665/Lauren-Pattersons-mother-tributes-daughter-murdered-Qatar.html
I may be in a minority with this comment but I am glad that the police concentrated on solving the crime and not on being good “PR” people. Good investigative work requires that you don’t disclose information that may cause the perpetrators to flee or hide. I know a few policemen here and they are good hardworking people, well done on solving this so quickly!
Could they not have done both? I don’t think one is exclusive of the other. The certainly seem to release loads of information (including speculation) in other cases – the Huangs, Dorje, etc
Murder like this happens everywhere
around the world, when young ladies walk out drank late night, giving a chance
to an ugly monster to hit hard the society. Lesson learned … don’t
leave wild party alone … make sure you are surrounded with many of you good
friends or if you cannot don’t go and stay out late
So you blame the women in this situation? How very 19th century of you to blame the victim rather than the perpetrator
I don’t think he is saying that. He is saying if you go out, stay in a group. Sound advice on any night out, anywhere in the world
I said the same thing. It’s simply reality that women need to do everything they can to protect themselves. When I was young I did lots of crazy stuff & luckily survived. No one ever even talked about what women should do to protect themselves. I made sure my daughter got those lessons & that’s not the same as blaming the victim. It’s exercising caution.
I agree that women should take steps to protect themselves. With the cultural and social attitudes and the apathy of the police to crimes against women, women have to take steps to protect themselves.
When some men know that the chance of being arrested, let alone convicted of a sexual crime is very low all you can do is take pecautions.
why is it when we suggest something to protect a woman its regarded as “very 19th century” and even if it is very “19th century” if it protects them its helping them…
women should protect themselves by wearing modest clothes, not drinking in public areas and walk in groups. arent westerners all about the “buddy system” especially if one were drunk they are prone to danger whether self inflicted or not.
and I’m not pointing that she did this to herself but for future reference (in cases like this) this could have been avoided if some of these rules were followed.
Rules? I think it is a rule that men keep the penes in their trousers and that they respect others! Or does your “religion” says you can rape, kill and destroy a woman because she is not “following” the rules? It seems easy for you to blame her, but what about the men? How many rules they didn’t follow?
I don’t think anyone has said that men have a right to force themselves on a woman. What they have said is that women need to act in a smart and responsible manner so as not to place themselves in potentially dangerous situations. Taking steps to protect yourself is a smart thing to do whether male or female.
there should be rules on both sides, women cover and men keep to themselves.
and my religion dose not accept rape to the extent where we can execute rapists in some cases.
furthermore I’m not blaming her I’m blaming both parties, the side which allowed this to happen and the part who started it.
What on earth do you mean by ‘the side which allowed this to happen and the part which started it?’ Are you suggesting that this young woman somehow brought this upon herself? Perhaps Doha would be a safer place if men were not allowed out unaccompanied by their mothers.
Flirting does not give a person the right to rape, stab, kill & burn that person.
see this is the difference between a western upbringing and a middle eastern.. we protect our daughters, sisters, mothers etc… by avoiding them to do these inappropriate and unimportant things to men that are not worth anything… whereas westerners are applauded for these acts. When doing something inappropriate like flirting the person should keep in mind that anything can happen in doing this act.. how would you know if it was a rapist or a serial killer one was flirting to?! ofcourse the person shouldnt have the right to rape or kill! but how would she have known what would happen before flirting?? she wouldnt so why put yourself in that position?
here my friend shows the clear difference we would go to lengths to help our women whereas westerners would just attack the other side…
In my humble opinion I think that when acts like this happen without preventable measures from the victims part they should both be held responsible in the cases. And Im not talking about this women but other cases since we dont know what really happened.
I totally agree with your upbringing methodology & you are indeed correct. We Muslims are taught culture from the day we are born. I remember in back around 2000-2003, Qatar was a beautiful & safe State with family & culture being the prime focus but where have these gone to? Yes the influx of western expats has changed Qatar’s outlook & honestly we are not very far behind Dubai. We need to preserve our Islamic culture & agreed that rules for expats MUST be imposed, especially the dress code for women. The less you see the less you will be tempted which will avert such crimes such as rape, murder, etc.
Why don’t we just say it…Its a huge Haram to have night clubs and drinking or any type of intoxicants in Qatar…and yes , without blame to this unfortunate woman , but as a woman speaking, how we dress does impact greatly on how men react. There are many recently published books written by non muslim women attesting to this fact.
Oi! He didn’t say that! And before you go hurling insults about islam, learn about it, we do not condone rape or murder…thats a malicious lie that is purposely spread about our religion
The woman left with friends she knew and trusted. They murdered her. Some buddies.
read what i wrote…same same
Well…since you pointed it out, placing this unfortunate crime asides – Qatar would be very similar to the 19th century Europe and America. So why are you expecting otherwise? Drinking was in not in good taste in eurocentric 19 century values, and it’s ‘supposed to be’ haram, had they not legalised its sale in Qatar. Same goes for drugs and any intoxicants. Those times had Jack the rippers, here we have these two monsters. In my opinion keeping safe is a life style not a set of rules to follow…then again Im Muslim..what do we know, eh?
No I think Qatar is very similar to 21st Century Europe and America, certainly for the affluent parts of the population.
Crime does happen everywhere but where in the past no one cared about Qatar or even knew where it was crimes happened under the radar and could be handled discreetly. Now it splashes itself all over the media, the world is interested and there is nothing better than a juicy crime story involving some rich (perception) locals.
It is a very sad crime and I feel badly for her family. Better advise would be to not have ‘wild parties’ or drink..but hey I’m Muslim…what do I know
I feel really bad reading that her body was burned & her family has to wait on DNA. Can you be anymore evil than to murder someone’s child & put them through this. RIP.
The body was likely burned to destroy any DNA or other physical evidence of assault by the culprits. A good forensics team will still find plenty to work with, but given the lack of such crimes in Qatar, I seriously doubt the expertise/experience exists here. This is one area in which outsourcing would be a great idea.
These animals took advantage of the Lauren’s party mood & they took matters into their own hands. NO WOMAN DESERVES TO GO THROUGH THIS NONSENSE IN QATAR or anywhere on this planet. A woman has the right to say no, period. These animals must be punished for all to see!!!!!!