The maid is said to have surrendered, and according to the Addis Ababa Police, she has confessed to the crime. According to her friends, The Reporter spoke to, Hewan was hit with a sharp object, thrown on a set of stairs and sustained a heavy burn over half of her body.
The maid was said to have made frantic phone calls to family members and friends. She allegedly told them of a fire emergency at the bungalow, located behind Desalegn Hotel.
The maid also made a phone call to the husband, a noted businessman, warning him of what had taken place. She was said to have attempted to hide the crime, or make it seem there was a break-in.
As soon as she made several phone calls, the maid was to have fled to the police station on a contract blue and white taxi. The incident took place in the exclusive area of Bole, a stone throw away from Kebele 19, in a rental exclusive bungalow.
Several teachers told The Reporter of a young woman that was a model student, who got along with most students and left an impression on all the people that knew her. The only daughter of an engineer, she joined Assay in Grade four and went on and graduated in 2008 and joined the Addis Ababa Business College, then called Commerce College, soon after.
Upon graduation in 2008, she joined Ethiopian Airlines as a hostess and quit after becoming pregnant. On the day she was murdered, she was to have flown to the United States in preparation for the arrival of her child.
There has been a flood of tributes on social media for Hewan. “Hiwiye abero adege may ur soul rest in eternal peace #OMG”, a childhood friend described her on Facebook.
“It’s so shocking and sad I couldn’t believe it. REST IN PEACE BEAUTIFUL”, said another.
Hewan Sahle Argaw, a 29-year old graduate of Assay Public School and a former Ethiopian airlines hostess has died last week. The six-month old bride, an expectant mother was allegedly murdered by her maid on Thursday, April 6, 2017.