U.S. officials believe that the Saudi government helped an accused killer in Oregon flee the country before he could be tried in the hit-and-run death of a 15-year-old, according to an investigation by The Oregonian.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Marshals Service say they believe the Saudi kingdom helped arrange Saudi national Abdulrahman Sameer Noorah’s return to his home country last year, two weeks before his June 2017 trial, the newspaper reported.

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Noorah in 2016 had been charged in the hit-and-run of a teenage girl, Fallon Smart, who died at the scene.

The Saudi consulate reportedly helped Noorah pay $100,000 of his bail, enough for him to be released, in 2016. Noorah's bail had been set at $1 million, but in Oregon, defendants can post 10 percent of their bail to be released, according to the newspaper.

Officials believe the Saudi government helped Noorah obtain an illicit passport and flew him back to Saudi Arabia, making it unlikely he will face charges from the U.S.

The Saudi government reportedly told Homeland Security that Noorah had returned to the kingdom in June 2017, but declined to answer how he had escaped the U.S., according to The Oregonian.

Federal authorities believe Noorah disposed of his ankle monitor before fleeing the country.

A grand jury indicted Noorah, charging him with first-degree manslaughter in the hit-and-run, the newspaper reported. He was facing more than 10 years in jail.

The Marshals Service and Homeland Security at the time of his disappearance launched an investigation, Eric Wahlstrom, a supervisory deputy U.S. marshal in Oregon, told the newspaper.

The Saudi government has previously stepped in when its nationals have faced charges in the U.S., the newspaper noted.

Noorah, who grew up in the Saudi city Jeddah, was a student in Portland for several years, starting in 2014. He received a monthly stipend of almost $2,000 from the Saudi government.

He faced charges of manslaughter, felony hit-and-run and reckless driving when he was first arrested for the hit-and-run.

“It begs the question: Why isn’t the Saudi government respecting our justice system?” Chris Larsen, a lawyer for Smart’s mother told The Oregonian. “It’s reprehensible.”