{{Short description|Egyptian serial killer}} {{Infobox serial killer | name = Gaddafi Farag | image = | image_size = | caption = | alt = | birth_name = Gaddafi Farag Abdel Atti | other_names = "The Butcher of Giza"<br>Muhammad Mustafa | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1971|10|20}} | birth_place = Giza, Giza Governorate, Egypt | death_date = | death_place = | cause = | conviction = Murder x4<br>Fraud<br>Forgery | sentence = Death x4 (murders)<br>Life imprisonment (fraud, forgery) | victims = 4 | beginyear = 2015 | endyear = 2017 | country = Egypt | states = Giza, Alexandria | apprehended = July 2020 | imprisoned = }}
'''Gaddafi Farag Abdel Atti'''<ref name="Farag">{{citation|title=Unveiling the Real Story: "Safah El Giza" and the Twisted Mind of Gaddafi Farag|date=5 August 2023 |url=https://www.el-shai.com/safah-el-giza-gaddafi-farag/|access-date=30 August 2023}}</ref> ({{langx|ar|قذافي فراج عبد العاطي}}; born October 20, 1971), known as '''Safah El Giza'''<ref name="Farag"/> (''The Giza Butcher''), is an Egyptian serial killer and fraudster who murdered four people from 2015 to 2017 in Giza and Alexandria out of an attempt to cover up his fraudulent activities. Convicted for the killings and related charges, he was given four death sentences for each, which he is currently appealing.
== Early life == Little is known about Farag's early life. Born in 1973 in the Boulaq district of Cairo, he graduated university with a degree in law, but never practiced as a lawyer. Instead, he opened up his own chain of bookstores and a factory for manufacturing children's toys.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Samar Syed |date=November 30, 2020 |title=زوجة سفاح الجيزة تروي تفاصيل مثيرة عن حياته وضحاياه (فيديو) |language=ar |trans-title=The wife of the Giza serial killer tells exciting details about his life and his victims (video) |work=rosaelyoussef.com |url=https://www.rosaelyoussef.com/788476/زوجة-سفاح-الجيزة-تروي-تفاصيل-مثيرة-عن-حياته-وضحاياه-فيديو |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230214075611/https://www.rosaelyoussef.com/788476/%D8%B2%D9%88%D8%AC%D8%A9-%D8%B3%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%AD-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%B2%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%8A-%D8%AA%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B5%D9%8A%D9%84-%D9%85%D8%AB%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D8%B9%D9%86-%D8%AD%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%87-%D9%88%D8%B6%D8%AD%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%87-%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%88 |archive-date=February 14, 2023}}</ref>
Farag was well-regarded by friends and acquaintances, most of whom said that he was a man devoted to his religion and high morals. Despite this, he frequently married and then abandoned wives, never informing the next one of his previous marriages and affairs.<ref name=":0" />
== Murders == Beginning in 2012, Farag befriended 48-year-old Reda Mohamed Abdel-Latif, an Egyptian engineer who worked abroad in Saudi Arabia.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Heba Abdel Hafeez |date=May 19, 2021 |title=بعد أحكام الإعدام.. "سفاح الجيزة" في مستشفى الأمراض العقلية |language=ar |trans-title=After the death sentences..."The Butcher of Giza" in the mental hospital |work=Sky News Arabia |url=https://www.skynewsarabia.com/varieties/1438455-أزمة-ابنة-عمرو-دياب-هو-مرض-فرط-الحركة؟ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230214075623/https://www.skynewsarabia.com/varieties/1438455-%D8%A7%D9%94%D8%B2%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%86%D8%A9-%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%B1%D9%88-%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%A8-%D9%87%D9%88-%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%B6-%D9%81%D8%B1%D8%B7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%A9%D8%9F |archive-date=February 14, 2023}}</ref> Believing that he was trustworthy due to his personality and degree in law, Reda invested large sums of money in Farag's business, unaware that his friend was using it for his own gain. In April 2015, Reda returned from Saudi Arabia and demanded that his money be returned. Fearing that he could expose his criminal activities, Farag invited him to his house in Boulaq, where he drugged him with poisoned pasta and then crushed his skull with an iron bar.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |date=February 18, 2021 |title=تفاصيل مرعبة في جرائم "سفاح الجيزة" |language=ar |trans-title=Terrifying details about the crimes of the "Butcher of Giza" |work=Al-Bayan |url=https://www.albayan.ae/varieties/2021-02-18-1.4096146 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230214075658/https://www.albayan.ae/varieties/2021-02-18-1.4096146 |archive-date=February 14, 2023}}</ref> He then put the body in a cement bag and threw it into a two-meter deep hole he had dug out beforehand in a room in his house. In order to cover it up, he hired some workers to pour ceramics over the place, claiming that it was to repair some sewage pipes. Afterwards, Farag sent a message from his phone to the man's wife, claiming that the police had arrested him during a demonstration, but did not provide any details.<ref name=":2" /> From then on, Farag assumed Reda's identity.
In June, Farag planned to marry another woman, but her sister, Nadine El Sayed El Gendy, threatened to expose his fraudulent activities to his family if he did not cease courting her sister.<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Sahar Azazi and Roaa Mamdouh |date=March 24, 2021 |title=القصة الكاملة لـ سفاح الجيزة.. "العشق والنصب" حاضران و"صدفة" كشفت 4 جرائم قتل |language=ar |trans-title=The full story of the Butcher of Giza..."Love and Killing" are present, and "coincidence" revealed 4 murders |work=El Watan News |url=https://www.elwatannews.com/news/details/5392940?t=push |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230214080257/https://www.elwatannews.com/news/details/5392940?t=push |archive-date=February 14, 2023}}</ref> In response, he lured her to the house and strangled her, then buried her body next to that of Reda. In order to cover his tracks, he told Nadine's family that she had run off with a Syrian film producer to France, where she supposedly wanted to work as a model.<ref name=":3" />
His next victim would be his wife, Fatima Zakaria El Zahraa, who had seized 400,000 pounds from him out of fear that he was going to marry another woman and later refused to give them back after they reconciled.<ref name=":1" /> Farag lured her to his house and then killed her during an argument the following month, bashing her head against a wall. After this, he buried the body under the floorboards. He then stole her jewellery and whatever money she had on her person.<ref name=":3" /> While still impersonating Reda, Farag sold all of his acquired property and real estate before going to Alexandria, where he opened a store for electrical appliances in the Asafra area.
Soon after travelling to Alexandria, Farag soon employed a woman named Yasmine Nasr Ibrahim. After some time, he started telling her that he was in love with her and wanted to marry her - unbeknownst to her, he had acquired documentation for an old apartment that she owned and sold it for 45,000 pounds.<ref name=":1" /> Upon discovering that she had been defrauded, Ibrahim confronted him and demanded that he return the money - in response, around May 2017, Farag lured her to his store under the pretense of giving her electrical tools that she could sell, where he beat and strangled her to death. He then buried her inside one of the rooms of the store.
=== Marriages and robberies === Farag would eventually marry a doctor from a wealthy family in Alexandria, with whom he would have one child. However, their relationship quickly deteriorated and they soon separated.<ref name=":2" /> Sensing an opportunity, Farag disguised himself with a niqāb and burgled into his ex-wife's apartment, from which he stole money and gold jewellery. The family members immediately suspected that he was responsible, but as they searched for him under Reda's name, they were unable to find any information at first.<ref name=":2" />
In early 2019, Farag proposed to another woman under the name of Mohamed Mustafa, convincing her and her family that he was an engineer by showing them a membership card for the Engineers' Syndicate.<ref name=":2" /> They married in April of that year, but he soon stole her jewellery and fled, pretending that he had been injured and had to be isolated due to COVID-19. In the meantime, the woman discovered that their shared apartment was actually rented in the name of someone named Reda Muhammad Abdel-Latif, not her current husband's supposed name of "Muhammed Mustafa".<ref name=":2" />
== Arrest, trial, and sentences == Wanting to sell his newly acquired jewellery, Farag decided to sell it to a jeweler who was a friend of his latest wife. While the man initially had no problem with it, he became suspicious when Farag kept bringing large amounts of gold jewellery with him, knowing that his wife had recently been robbed. After he left, the jeweler called Farag's wife and told her about this, whereupon she informed him that she believed her husband was a fraudster. When Farag returned to pick up the money the following day, he was arrested by authorities on charges of robbery and fraud.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |date=November 16, 2021 |title=مصر.. نشر الفيديو المتسبب في القبض على "سفاح الجيزة" |language=ar |trans-title=Egypt: The video that caused the arrest of the "Butcher of Giza" was published |work=SawtBeirut |url=https://www.sawtbeirut.com/artsandentertainment/مصر-نشر-الفيديو-المتسبب-في-القبض-على-س/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230214075729/https://www.sawtbeirut.com/artsandentertainment/%D9%85%D8%B5%D8%B1-%D9%86%D8%B4%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%88-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%B3%D8%A8%D8%A8-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%A8%D8%B6-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%B3/ |archive-date=February 14, 2023}}</ref>
While he was awaiting robbery charges, Reda's family kept searching for him, and thinking that Farag was their son, they sent a lawyer to talk with him. After realizing that he was an impersonator, they filed a missing persons report and an official investigation was launched into the matter. When confronted with this, Farag confessed to all of his crimes.<ref name=":4" />
After the four victims' bodies were exhumed and examined, Farag was charged with four counts of murder, as well as numerous counts of fraud and related offences. He was then detained at a local hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, which determined that he was not mentally ill and thus able to stand trial.<ref name=":1" /> At the subsequent trials in Giza and Alexandria, Farag was found guilty on all counts - he was given four death sentences corresponding to each murder, as well as a life sentence on the fraud and forgery charges.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ahmed Al-Jaafari |date=March 23, 2022 |title=4 أحكام بالإعدام ضد "سفاح الجيزة".. الجنايات تقضى بإعدامه فى قضية قتل زوجته "فاطمة".. السجل الجنائى يتضمن 4 أحكام بالإعدام أحدها نهائي وحكما بالمؤبد فى قضية تزوير.. والنقض تتسلم ملف القضايا |language=ar |trans-title=4 death sentences against the "Butcher of Giza"...judges vote for his death in the case of killing his wife "Fatima"...his criminal record includes 4 death sentences, one of which is final, and a life sentence in a forgery case...and the Court of Cassation receives the case file |work=Youm7 |url=https://www.youm7.com/story/2022/3/23/4-أحكام-بالإعدام-ضد-سفاح-الجيزة-الجنايات-تقضى-بإعدامه-فى/5702130 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230212170946/https://www.youm7.com/story/2022/3/23/4-%D8%A3%D8%AD%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B9%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%B6%D8%AF-%D8%B3%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%AD-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%B2%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%B6%D9%89-%D8%A8%D8%A5%D8%B9%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%87-%D9%81%D9%89/5702130 |archive-date=February 12, 2023}}</ref> He filed appeals against all of them, but thus far all of them have been rejected.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ehab Al-Mohandes |date=July 28, 2022 |title=سفاح الجيزة ينتظر القصاص العادل.. تعرف على موعد تنفيذ الإعدام فى قاتل صديقه |work=Youm7 |url=https://www.youm7.com/story/2022/7/28/سفاح-الجيزة-ينتظر-القصاص-العادل-تعرف-على-موعد-تنفيذ-الإعدام/5850116 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230212090641/https://www.youm7.com/story/2022/7/28/%D8%B3%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%AD-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%B2%D8%A9-%D9%8A%D9%86%D8%AA%D8%B8%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B5%D8%A7%D8%B5-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%84-%D8%AA%D8%B9%D8%B1%D9%81-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D9%85%D9%88%D8%B9%D8%AF-%D8%AA%D9%86%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%B0-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B9%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%85/5850116 |archive-date=February 12, 2023}}</ref>
On January 11, 2024, Farag's death sentence for the murder of Yasmine Ibrahim was finalized after a court of appeals rejected his final appeal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.masrawy.com/news/news_cases/details/2024/1/11/2522313/واجب-النفاذ-قرار-جديد-من-النقض-بشأن-إعدام-سفاح-الجيزة-|title=واجب النفاذ.. قرار جديد من النقض بشأن إعدام "سفاح|author=Tariq Samir and Ramadan Younes|work=Masrawy|date=January 11, 2024|trans-title=Enforceable...a new decision from the cassation regarding the execution of the "Giza Butcher"|language=ar|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20240214141258/https://www.masrawy.com/news/news_cases/details/2024/1/11/2522313/%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B0-%D9%82%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%AC%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D9%85%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D9%82%D8%B6-%D8%A8%D8%B4%D8%A3%D9%86-%D8%A5%D8%B9%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%B3%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%AD-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%8A%D8%B2%D8%A9-|archivedate=February 14, 2024}}</ref>
== See also == * List of serial killers by country
== References == {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farag, Gaddafi}} Category:1971 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century murderers Category:Male murderers Category:Egyptian serial killers Category:21st-century Egyptian criminals Category:Fraudsters Category:Egyptian people convicted of murder Category:People convicted of murder by Egypt Category:Perpetrators of uxoricide Category:People convicted of fraud Category:People convicted of forgery Category:Egyptian prisoners sentenced to death Category:Prisoners sentenced to death by Egypt Category:Egyptian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Category:Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Egypt Category:Egyptian prisoners and detainees Category:People from Cairo