Last update - 00:00 21/02/2007
Court charges Bedouin youth with brutal murder of Yuvalim teen
By Jack Khoury, Haaretz Correspondent
A 17-year-old Bedouin youth was charged at Haifa District Court on Wednesday with the murder of 18-year-old Yuvalim resident Ma'ayan Ben-Horin, whose body was found on January 9 between Yodfat and Hararit, two days after she was last seen.
The prosecution alleges the teen murdered the high school student after trying to rape her.
The gag order on the details of the investigation as well as the boy's arrest was lifted Tuesday night, following a request by Haaretz.
The investigation found that Ben-Horin was on her way to a job interview at a local farm, arrived at the dirt trail that leads to the farm by hitchhiking and proceeded from there on foot. She is believed to have encountered the suspect along the trail. The boy lives nearby with his family and often wanders the area as a shepherd.
The boy is suspected of assaulting Ben-Horin with the intention of raping her, but she fought back and a struggle developed. He allegedly killed Ben-Horin with a rock, hid her body and left the scene.
The commander of the special Police Northern District unit tasked with the investigation, Commander Menachem Hever, told Haaretz that when Ben-Horin's body was found, police searched the area and discovered biological evidence from which a DNA sample was taken. Hever stressed that the autopsy and lab tests proved that Ben-Horin was not raped.
According to Hever, police began searching for potential suspects, focusing initially on people who are often seen in the area, including local Bedouin families and shepherds as well as the farm's employees.
In the course of the investigation, over 100 people were questioned, of which roughly 60 provided DNA samples and underwent a polygraph test. The DNA suspect taken from the suspect matched the sample found on Ben-Horin's body, which was the break in the case police were looking for.
On February 2, the suspect was arrested and handed over to Shin Bet questioning, and after the possibility the murder was politically motivated was ruled out, was handed back over to the special Northern District police unit.
The youth originally denied any connection to the incident, but during questioning eventually claimed his dog had chased Ben-Horin, and that he threw a rock in order to scare off the dog but accidentally hit the girl. Despite the partial confession, the boy reenacted the events for investigators.
Police and prosecution sources say the boy's claims are baseless, given evidence found at the scene, the signs of violence on Ben-Horin's body which prove intent to kill, and the DNA evidence that eliminates any doubt as to the identity of the murderer.
It should be noted that the Ben-Horin family received updates throughout the investigation, and has issued a statement saying they do not intend to comment publicly on the matter. The family has also asked newspapers to respect their privacy, and refrain from publishing the more gruesome details of the case.