Apex man charged with killing wife after her body was found in Jordan Lake. What we know

A Chatham County man was charged with killing his wife and disposing of her body in Jordan Lake following a weeks-long investigation.

Omar Matthew Ibrahim Drabick, 34, of Apex was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and concealment of an unnatural death on Tuesday, the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office said.

A boater spotted a woman’s body in the water near the Farrington Point Boat Ramp at about 2:30 p.m. on Aug. 29, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

A week went by without her name and background known.

After an extensive effort and requests for public assistance from law enforcement, the woman was identified as Hadeel Ghadhanfer Hikmat, 34, Drabick’s wife, through fingerprint analysis.

Details on Jordan Lake victim’s case

Hikmat’s brother, who lives in Istanbul, Turkey, spoke to local media previously demanding justice for his sister’s death.

Firas Hikmat told ABC11, The N&O’s newsgathering partner, that he had been concerned for his sister’s safety before she went missing.

Firas said Hadeel was originally from Baghdad, Iraq and had studied chemical engineering.

She moved to North Carolina in 2022 after marrying Drabick, according to ABC11.

“My sister Hadeel was so ambitious, so dedicated...she was working two places because she wanted to help her husband,” Firas told ABC11.

The N&O reached out to Firas for comment on Tuesday afternoon.

The suspect’s background

Drabick was once a substitute teacher for Wake County Public Schools. His employment ended in June, Sara Clark, the school system’s senior director of communications, told The N&O.

Wake County records show that Drabick owned the home in the 700 block of Treviso Lane in Apex, where Hikmat was stated to have lived.

This story was originally published September 19, 2023 at 12:37 PM.