Man accused of strangling ex-wife, covering in fire accelerant will face August trial
SPOKANE, Wash. — The man accused of strangling his ex-wife to death and lighting her car on fire will face a jury this summer.
On Monday, Yasir Darraji pleaded not guilty and a judge set his trial for August.
RELATED: Court records: Woman killed by ex-husband strangled, covered in fire accelerant
Darraji has been charged with murder in Ibithal Darraji’s death.
In early February, police and firefighters responded to a car fire near Thornton Murphy Park. Once the fire was put out, they found Ibithal’s body inside the car, covered in fire accelerent.
Court records showed Ibithal had expressed concern to her employer about her safety. A friend told police that Ibithal and Yasir had divorced, but Yasir had grown angry by some of her actions since their separation.
Since their divorce, Yasir had started a new relationship. According to court records, that woman told police Yasir had assaulted her several times before. Documents indicate she told police he strangled her, had threatened to kill her on multiple occasions and had attempted to kill their baby by punching her in the abdomen when she was pregnant.
According to court documents, Yasir threatened his girlfriend by saying he would burn down her mother’s home and kept a two gallon gas can on his back porch.
Yasir continues to be held in the Spokane County Jail on a $2 million bond.
RELATED: Man accused of killing woman found inside burning car to appear in court Monday
RELATED: Spokane Police arrest man suspected of killing woman found inside burning car
RELATED: A woman’s body found inside car on fire near Thornton Murphy Park
COPYRIGHT 2022 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.
