Man to face charges in death of woman found decapitated in Northeast Philly

Homicide detectives are investigating the death of a woman found decapitated inside a home Tuesday afternoon in Northeast Philadelphia, police said.

The District Attorney’s Office approved charges against Ahmad Shareef, 34, for murder, abuse of a corpse, and possessing an instrument of crime, Jane Roh, a spokesperson for the office, said Tuesday night.

Police investigators have determined that the woman’s death was a domestic homicide, Roh said.

Shareef was being held without bail.

Around 12:45 p.m., the 41-year-old woman was found dead in a home on the 300 block of Magee Avenue in the city’s Lawndale section, police said. Police later identified the victim as Leila Al Raheel.

Police said they were dispatched to the home for a report of a woman stabbed with a knife and possibly dead.

Officers arriving on the scene quickly described the woman as having been decapitated and that a known man was believed to be the perpetrator.

Minutes after police found Al Raheel, they found Shareef hiding a distance away from the scene of the crime, police said. He was immediately arrested and a knife was recovered, police said.

Police said they had been to the house before responding to prior incidents.

A nearby resident who asked not to be identified said the occupants were Syrian immigrants who moved in about seven years ago and were welcomed by neighbors, but soon the house became a constant source of chaos, mainly involving men arguing or fighting.

In one year, the police responded to the house a couple of dozen times, the resident said, but the situation calmed down slightly in recent years. The resident described Al Raheel as friendly but quiet, possibly because she was not an English speaker.

Online court records show that Shareef agreed to plead guilty in 2015 for a disorderly conduct arrest that occurred the year prior.

In 2016, Shareef was charged with driving under the influence. The case was not resolved and there remains an active bench warrant for Shareef, court records show.