Brooke George, a 23-year-old influencer from Gravesend in Kent, England, seemed to believe she was about to start a new chapter in her life in Dubai.
According to reports, a 26-year-old man, William Treeby, also from Kent, promised her a life of fame, glamor, and extravagance when he invited her to the Gulf.
But things took a horrifying turn soon, leading to Treeby’s demise and George’s arrest on charges of homicide.
Highlights
- 23-year-old British influencer Brooke George was arrested in Dubai on charges of homicide for allegedly stabbing her boyfriend after being attacked.
- Her mother and lawyers claimed that she was “terrified” for her life and acted in self-defense.
- George was allegedly strip-searched and denied initial legal counsel after arrest, and potentially faces capital punishment.
She is now in the custody of the local authority, potentially facing capital punishment.
“The daughter I spoke to that night was utterly terrified,” said the former John Lewis shop assistant’s mother, Thereza George.
Brooke George stabbed her boyfriend after he punched her in the face
Image credits: brookekeishageorge
Brooke George first met William Treeby on a trip to Dubai in May 2026 after the two connected on Facebook. She said she had the time of her life on the vacation.
Treeby, who drove a Rolls-Royce, was “very nice” to her and arranged a professional photoshoot on a beach for her influencer profile. But his demeanor changed dramatically when George returned to the UAE in June, according to her statement.
She informed her close ones that he had booked her a one-way ticket to Dubai, confiscated her passport upon arrival, and had become “controlling and ab*s*ve.”
Image credits: Bill Treeby
Image credits: Annabeth7071
She also accused him of attacking her in a car while intoxicated after a night out at a bar in Jumeirah Village, before continuing to hit her back at his flat.
George desperately wanted to leave.
Her friends had already helped her buy a flight ticket home. But when she tried to retrieve her passport, Treeby allegedly attacked her again and punched her in the face as she cried and begged for her document.
Image credits: Fabio Partenheimer/Pexels (not an actual photo)
Fearing for her life, George allegedly grabbed a kitchen knife at this point in self-defense and stabbed him, taking his life.
She then tried to leave the country and come home, but was arrested at the airport in the early hours of June 22 and charged with homicide.
She is now being held in custody at Bur Dubai Police Station.
A “terrified” Brooke George spoke to her mother right after the incident
Image credits: Ethan Wilkinson/Pexels (not an actual photo)
Brooke George’s mother, Thereza, said in a statement that the “dynamic between them had clearly changed” during her daughter’s second trip to Dubai.
“The day before the incident, she did not seem like herself. She was quieter and not her usual happy, cheerful self, but she did not tell me why.”
“That evening, they went to a bar in Dubai,” Thereza revisited.
Image credits: simplyshiku
Image credits: brookekeishageorge
“When I spoke to Brooke right after the incident, she was absolutely terrified. I have never seen my daughter so frightened in my life. She was crying uncontrollably.”
Thereza recalled that one of Brooke’s eyes was badly swollen and was beginning to close. She said she was “deeply concerned” for her daughter’s welfare.
“I firmly believe she was desperately trying to get home and away from whatever had happened to her,” Thereza added.
Image credits: Bill Treeby
Brooke George is represented by Detained in Dubai, a London-based organization that provides legal advice and support to foreign tourists and expats detained in the UAE.
The organization claimed that Brooke was forced to strip down in front of male officers at Bur Dubai prison without a female present.
Also, she has allegedly received “little explanation of the proceedings due to the language barrier” and was “deprived of access to her embassy and forced to make statements in the absence of a lawyer.”
Brooke George might face capital punishment carried out by a firing squad
Image credits: brookekeishageorge
Radha Stirling, the CEO of Detained in Dubai, insisted that Brooke George must be considered a domestic violence survivor by the Dubai authorities during the investigation, pointing to the multiple witnesses who observed visible injuries on Brooke after the incident.
She added that those closest to Brooke became “increasingly concerned” that she may have been “lured to Dubai under false pretenses.”
“Investigators must consider the possibility Brooke was a victim of serious violence, not just a suspect – and ensure she receives medical care, legal support and immediate British consular assistance,” Stirling said.
Image credits: brookekeishageorge
“We will be working to ensure that her rights are protected, that she receives a fair trial, and that the circumstances leading to this tragedy are fully and impartially examined.”
Brooke George’s case is apparently one of the many similar ones her organization has handled in the past, where female influencers were “lured” to Dubai with promises of luxury and romantic holidays, and were subjected to violence and even trafficking.
UAE law says that any person who commits homicide with premeditation and deliberation shall be sentenced to capital punishment, which is carried out exclusively by a firing squad.
However, executions are a rare occurrence, reserved for extreme cases, require a panel of three judges to agree on the sentence, and are often commuted to life imprisonment.
The law also states, “there is no crime in case the act is performed in the exercise of the right of lawful self-defense.”
The defendant’s case must meet certain conditions, including an argument of facing “immediate danger” on their person at the time the homicide was committed, to be acquitted under self-defense.
"This is absolutely terrifying." The internet was in shock after learning what unfolded between Brooke George and William Treeby
Image credits: GeneralGrimTF2
Image credits: Buick_Willis
Image credits: NysaDL
Image credits: ElectroExtant
Image credits: MazlumAltun
Image credits: sofia0342
Image credits: swanstaforever
Image credits: OrderflowBrizzy
Image credits: 69dogecoin
Image credits: onlyrubyredd