'My Ex the Serial Killer': A Woman Left Her Abusive Husband. Then She Learned Disturbing Extent of What He'd Done (Exclusive)

• Karim Selim, 37, was convicted in August of torturing and killing three sex workers in Cairo, Egypt

• His ex-wife, Lobna Yakout, is speaking out about her marriage to the so-called “New Cairo Serial Killer”

• Yakout, 33, says she is still searching for the couple’s son, Zayn Selim

The ex-wife of a serial killer convicted of murdering and torturing several women in Egypt is speaking out about the abuse she endured during their marriage — and what it was like finding out about his killings.

Lobna Yakout, 33, has been living in her native U.K. since 2022 after escaping Cairo, where she lived with her former husband Karim Selim, who was convicted in August of several murders in Egypt, per Al-Ahram, The New Arab and the Middle East Monitor.

The couple married in 2013 and lived in Egypt with their son Zayn Selim until their separation in 2020, per Egyptian court records reviewed by PEOPLE.

Karim, 37, tortured, killed and sexually abused the corpses of three women in his upscale Cairo residence between November 2023 and May 2024, per the outlets. He also recorded his acts and, per The New Arab and Egyptian Streets, built a soundproof room to carry out his crimes.

His victims were all sex workers, per Al-Ahram and The New Arab. He allegedly told authorities there are more victims, per The New Arab, but it wasn’t immediately clear if those claims are still being investigated.

His infamy has earned him several nicknames, such as the “New Cairo Serial Killer,” the “al-Tagamoa Serial Killer,” “New Cairo Slaughterer” and “Women’s Slaughterer,” according to Egyptian media outlets.

For Yakout, learning that Karim was capable of the crimes was not surprising, but it brought back traumatizing memories.

She alleges to PEOPLE she endured years of abuse from Karim and decided to leave him in 2020. (Egyptian law did not criminalize domestic violence at the time, preventing Yakout from filing charges).

“He nearly killed me many times,” she alleges.

In 2020, she left with then 5-year-old Zayn and moved into a new home in Cairo; within a year, she alleges, Karim began threatening her and her family.

In 2021, following what was supposed to be a temporary meeting between father and son, Zayn was not returned to her, she claims. Yakout says she has not seen her son since.

Recounting the last time she saw Zayn before handing him off to Karim, she says she told her son, “If you’re taken from me, find me.”

She says: “That’s the last thing I said to him.”

Within a year, she says she was forced to flee Cairo amid a series of threats from Karim. On one occasion, she alleges, Karim waited outside Yakout’s Cairo residence for four days with a knife, which prompted her to escape the residence in disguise and flee to the U.K.

Earlier this year, she learned the horrifying truth about how Karim’s violence extended beyond their household.

In May, she received a call from Egyptian investigators, claiming Karim had been arrested on allegations that he murdered three women.

“I didn’t believe it. I thought he set it up because he just everything to find me … so I get to Egypt and he’d get me,” she says. Days later, she would learn about his crimes from local Egyptian media.

“Me and my mum, we were shaken,” she recalls, “it was madness.”

Even though Karim is behind bars, Yakout’s journey is not over. Now, she says, she is desperately searching for Zayn, who was reportedly handed to Karim’s mother following his arrest.

Yakout says she hasn’t received any assistance from authorities to help find Zayn, who was born in Michigan, where many of Karim’s family members live. The American embassy in Egypt did not respond to PEOPLE’s inquiry about if they are investigating the matter.

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Meanwhile, Yakout remains steadfast in her fight to find Zayn, who she has not seen in more than three years.

As soon as he is back with her, Yakout says she plans to “take him to the beach” for some “mom-Zayn time.”

“That’s our thing, we love the beach,” she says wistfully.

She recalls one of her last memories with him: About a week before she last saw him, Zayn had asked her for balloons, which she purchased. Then, the two walked around a shopping center, Zayn high-fiving strangers, and giving them balloons.

“It was all his idea,” Yakout says, smiling at the recollection. “He loves to make friends and he loves to be social.”

Yakout is currently in Cairo in search of her son; she has started a GoFundMe to assist her in her search for Zayn, and has also posted videos on TikTok detailing her situation.

• Cai Cramer contributed reporting

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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