A teenager accused of stabbing his eight-year-old cousin to death while high on cannabis was trying to kill his mother in a botched honour killing, it has been claimed.
Mohammad S, 16, is accused of killing May Baqna in the city of Qus, Qena governorate, southern Egypt, .
Police claimed he had initially plotted to kill his mum, Zainab M.A, after believing she had started a relationship with another man after leaving his father.
Zainab lives with her family but as her son entered the house he was reportedly surprised by his young cousin and stabbed her before fleeing.
Mohammad S. - arrested by police soon after the slaying - reportedly told investigators he feared she would identify him if he did not kill her.
Police believe Mohammed S. is a regular cannabis user and had been high while he carried out the killing.
Dua Abdullah, May's mum, returned home from her job as a nurse at a medical clinic to find her daughter lying in a pool of her own blood.
Dua said: "They killed a piece of my heart and the reason for my happiness."
She also reportedly blamed her sister Zainab M.A., also known as Rasha Hamdi, and her sister's estranged husband, named only as Sabri M.A. and also known as Hassan Hamdi, for the situation.
Mohammad S. allegedly confessed: “I slaughtered my aunt’s daughter… and failed to kill my mother.”
The investigation is ongoing.