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MILLCREEK — A call to police asking them to conduct a welfare check on a man turned into a homicide investigation over the weekend.
Officers were called about 7 p.m. Friday to check on a man who lives at 3365 S. 900 East, said Unified Police Lt. Brian Lohrke. He did not know Monday who called police.
When officers arrived, they looked in the windows and could see a "significant" amount of blood, he said. Fearing for the safety of the person, the officers forced their way inside the house and found the body of Alaa "Ali" Alkhatawi, 46.
Police were not releasing Monday how Alkhatawi was killed. Lohrke did not know if anyone else was living at the house or what the victim was doing prior to his death. Alkhatawi was believed to have been dead for 12 to 24 hours before officers found his body.
Friends, however, said Monday that Alkhatawi was stabbed and his body was found near the back door. And they believe that the attacker may be someone who Alkhatawi knew well because there was no sign of forced entry into the house and Alkhatawi's dog, who is reportedly aggressive toward strangers, didn't appear to do anything.
"It's too hard to believe it, you know? Ali is a good man, a decent man. He don't hurt nobody. He's not a violent man. He's a very, very good man," said Mustafa Alhussaini.
Alkhatawi was born in Iraq. All of his family members still live there, Alhussaini said. His friends say Alkhatawi was among the estimated 3 million refugees who fled Iraq in 1991 during Desert Storm and sought shelter in Saudi Arabia.
"This gentleman lived a very simple life. He lived a life filled with pain. He was a refugee for eight years, living in the middle of the desert. And to have his life end like this is just not acceptable," said neighbor Fahim Albakawi.
It was through the refugee program that Alkhatawi came to Utah. Now, his friends are trying to raise enough money to have his body sent back to Iraq so he can be buried next to his father.
Albakawi and Alhussaini made a plea to the person responsible for their friend's death to surrender.
Anyone with information about the killing is asked to call police at 801-743-3000.
Contributing: Peter Samore
