Last update - 00:00 14/09/2006
Two indicted for murder of underworld-linked policeman
By Nir Hasson, Haaretz Correspondent
The Tel Aviv District Court on Thursday indicted Eran Hayah and Gadi Hazan on suspicion of murdering policeman Tzachi Ben-Or in 2004.
Ben-Or was suspected of serving as a mercenary for the underworld Parinyan family while also serving on the police force.
In the period before the murder, Ben-Or lived on an alias with his girlfriend Joana Darley, a Columbian national, in Cancun, Mexico. According to the charge sheet, the suspects came to stay with Ben-Or in his apartment several days before the murder.
Hayah and Hazan are charged with killing Ben-Or by shooting him in the head. Darley, who was asleep at that moment, woke up and the two decided to kill her as well.
Hayah allegedly approached her and began strangling her. Hazan then stabbed her in the neck with a knife. Darley survived the attack, however, and will testify in the trial.
Prosecutors have asked the court to hold the suspects in custody until the end of legal proceedings.
The suspects used their right to remain silent and deny all the allegations against them.