Fiancée shocked by reports that Khashoggi’s body was melted

ANKARA (AP) — The fiancée of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi has expressed “shock and sadness” over reports suggesting that his body may have been dissolved with chemicals.

Hatice Cengiz said on Twitter late Thursday that Khashoggi’s killers had deprived his loved ones of conducting funeral prayers and burying him in Medina, Saudi Arabia as he had wished.

Turkey says the Washington Post columnist, who was critical of the Saudi crown prince, was strangled and dismembered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 by a 15-member assassination squad. Media reports have suggested that his body, which has not been found, could have been chemically dissolved.

In a message to The Associated Press yesterday, Cengiz said she has not received information from officials to confirm those reports.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has embarked on a domestic tour this week with his favorite son, demonstrating his support for his chosen heir despite the crisis spawned by the murder of Khashoggi.

Roads were lined with Saudi flags and images of the king and his son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, when they arrived in the central region of Qassim late on Tuesday. Distinguished figures greeted them and children offered flowers.

The tour is the latest public outreach by the 82-year-old monarch, apparently intended to shore up the power of Prince Mohammed, known as MbS, who has taken over day-to-day rule, but whose international reputation was battered in the month since Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.