Two Qatar men have been arrested as suspects in the murder of Lauren Patterson after she went missing on Oct. 12, Reuters reported.
The 24-year-old British school teacher at Newton British School in Doha, was found "burned beyond recognition" in a Qatari desert. Officials say they are conducting DNA tests to confirm the identity, even though Patterson's mother has already identified the body, Newsmax.com.au reported.
British media said Patterson went missing early Saturday morning after she was seen with two men at La Cigale nightclub in Doha, Reuters reported. La Cigale is a five-star hotel with three different nightclubs inside.
Conflicting reports from The Daily Mail said Patterson texted friends saying the car she was in was taking her to the wrong house. Some of Patterson's friends later posted on Twitter that Patterson had been raped and murdered.
The Interior Ministry said in a statement "the police have arrested the suspects of a European woman's murder. The case has been referred to Public Prosecution to complete further judicial procedures applicable in this regard," according to Reuters. The Interior Ministry would not release names of the suspects taken into custody.
One of the suspects had a swollen lip, which he said happened after an altercation with the taxi driver who was taking the three of them to the wrong location, according to The Daily Mail.
Patterson had flown to England to attend her grandmother's funeral and had flown back to Qatar a few days before she went missing, according to News.com.au.
Alison Patterson, Lauren's mother, flew into Qatar earlier this week to identify the body and "fight for justice" for her daughter, UPI.com reported. She described the waiting for her daughter's body "extremely stressful."
Family members are dealing with Qatar officials spoke well of their response, saying they have met with senior officials who are "leaving no stone unturned," in Patterson's investigation.
