Raya and Sakina


Raya and Sakina were two Egyptian serial killers, known as Egypt's most infamous serial killers. Raya and Sakina were siblings. They, their husbands, and two other men began killing women in the Labban neighbourhood of Alexandria in the early 1900s.
Raya, Sakina and their husbands were tried for murder. All four were convicted and were sentenced to death on 16 May 1921. Raya and Sakina became the first Egyptian women to be executed by the modern state of Egypt.

Crimes

The six criminals were Raya and her husband Hasb-Allah, Sakina and her husband Mohamed Abd El-'Al, in addition to two other men Orabi Hassan, and Abd El-Razik yossef. Between 20 December 1919 and 12 November 1920, the gang of Raya and Sakina murdered 17 women. The victims were prostitutes who used to work in the "secret home" that was managed by Raya and Sakina. Most of the victims knew Raya and Sakina and had been friends with them for years. After luring a victim to one of the four homes, they would offer her wine and liquor until she became inebriated. The four men would then attack the victim and constrain her movement. One would hold her ankles, one would surround her chest with his arms, and a third would hold her head tightly while the fourth suffocated her by forcibly placing a wet cloth on her mouth and nose until she stopped breathing. They would then steal her jewellery, money, and clothes. Afterwards, the men would remove the tiles of the floor, dig a hole, bury the corpse in it, and reset the tiles.
The two sisters sold the stolen jewellery to a local jeweller, Ali Hasan, and divided the money among the six criminals.

Crime scenes

Four homes where the crimes had been committed were all located near Mansheya Square. Most of the victims came from this area.
The addresses of the homes:
Inspired by the story of the Raya and Sakina, many books and works of art have been published.