Photo: 123RF
WARNING: This story contains graphic content that some readers may find upsetting.
A woman has been charged over the alleged murder and dismemberment of her husband in Sydney's southwest last year.
NSW Police launched a missing persons investigation after 62-year-old Mamdouh Noufl was reported missing by family and friends in July 2023.
Noufl had not been seen since May of that year.
Homicide squad detectives took over the case in January after police deemed the disappearance of Noufl to be suspicious.
On Thursday, 53-year-old Nirmeen Noufl was arrested and a crime scene warrant was executed at her and her husband's home in Greenacre.
Nirmeen Noufl was taken into custody at Bankstown Police Station and charged with murder yesterday morning.
Detective Superintendent Daniel Doherty said police were treating the matter as a "domestic violence murder".
"Police will allege Mamdouh Noufl was intentionally killed by Nirmeen Noufl," he said.
"We will allege also that she butchered and dismembered his body, placed his body parts in plastic bags and then disposed of his remains in various rubbish bins in the residential areas and industrial areas of south-west Sydney."
Superintendent Doherty said there was allegedly an "extensive clean-up" and "reflooring" of the couple's home.
"The murder is brutal, but it's also macabre and bizarre," he alleged.
Superintendent Doherty said police will allege Nirmeen Noufl "had taken over" Mamdouh Noufl's phone and social media accounts "purporting that he would still be alive".
"That probably delayed some of the investigations and was probably a ruse to disguise the fact that he actually indeed had been killed," he said.
'I never heard any disturbances'
The couple's home, located on a busy road in the middle of Greenacre, appeared shut-up and abandoned.
The house blinds were closed, with only the door to a small outside storage shed left ajar.
Neighbours said they couldn't believe the alleged murder took place in such a regular neighbourhood.
"I never heard any disturbances, I didn't see anything unusual," one neighbour, who didn't want to be identified, said.
The neighbour said he often spoke to Mamdouh Noufl in passing, and believed he'd moved overseas as he hadn't seen him in "many months".
The couple had migrated from Egypt and had adult children, who were last seen at the house earlier this week, he added.
"I feel very sorry for [Mr Noufl], I'm really shocked," the neighbour said.
"I can't believe he ended up like that."
Nirmeen Noufl was refused bail.
She is expected to appear before Burwood Local Court on 11 December.
The investigation is ongoing.
- This story was first published by the ABC.