Awdah Ahmad Awdah Salem

Awdah Ahmad Awdah Salem (died August 7, 2014), known as The Yanbu Serial Killer, was a Yemeni serial killer who killed three Indonesian housemaids in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, between 2007 and 2009. He was convicted and subsequently executed for his crimes in 2014.

Crimes Salem, a Yemeni expatriate who had been living in the country with his family for several years, had previously been arrested for abusing his wife and children. He was imprisoned under a false name, as he always carried several forged documents and passports, presenting himself as a Saudi student before the authorities.

He committed his first crime on September 8, 2007, near the beginning of Ramadan. The pair met at the northern corniche of Yanbu, where Salem picked her up in his car and subsequently drove her to one of his home. There, he raped and beat Halima with a stick, before finally smothering her with a pillow. Interested in this potential lead, they started monitoring Salem's activities, and eventually arrested him when they found out that he had been using forged passports. While examining his house and possessions, they found additional passports, as well as photographs of housemaids on his mobile phone. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that one of the women was indeed a missing victim. Salem was questioned by investigators, and confessed to the crimes, pointing out all of the burial sites scattered around Yanbu. Salem denied all charges, and announced that if convicted, he would appeal the sentence to the Supreme Judicial Council of Saudi Arabia. He was found guilty and sentenced to death by beheading, and his subsequent appeal was rejected. On August 7, 2014, Salem was publicly executed in Yanbu.