Last update - 00:00 16/04/2007
Zadorov pleads not guilty to murder of Golan Heights teen Tair Rada
By Eli Ashkenazi, Haaretz Correspondent
Katzrin resident Roman Zadorov, 29, pled not guilty to the murder of 13-year-old Golan Heights teen Tair Rada in Nazareth District Court on Monday.
Rada's body was found on December 6, 2006 in a bathroom stall in the Nofei Golan High School in Katzrin, where she was enrolled as a student.
The court on Monday also set at the end of May for a hearing on whether Zadorov's confession, which he subsequently retracted claiming he was subjected to intense police pressure, can be admitted as evidence during the trial.
At the hearing, the court announced that the panel of judges that would be presiding over the trial would be replaced due to technical reasons.
Rada Family points to contradictions and faults; police and prosecutors reject these claims
Northerner Eli Gadeker, who drove three teenage boys out of Katzrin shortly after the December murder of Tair Rada, identified the youths in a lineup, according to prosecutors and police. It had been reported last week that Gadeker did not pick any of the youths out of the lineup. Haaretz has learned that the police say the three teens have solid alibis, and lab tests ruled out blood on a shirt found where Gadeker dropped off one of the teens.
The police and prosecution seek to contradict claims raised by the Rada family prior to a High Court of Justice hearing on a Rada family petition. Shmuel and Ilana Rada are reiterating what they find faults, contradictions and in the evidence of the case. "The concern is that the accused's trial will be prolonged, and in the event he is acquitted, the passage of time will diminish the ability to explore other possible suspects," stated the petition.
Police and prosecutors say all possible directions in the investigation were examined again: "The claims raised in the petition are incorrect."
These include testimony from Gadeker, who picked up three teens at the Katzrin Center junction shortly after the murder and drove them to the Hula Valley. Gadeker said "one of them asked what have I done?'" when he got in the car. The teens identified Gadeker and admitted to traveling with him that day. All three have a solid alibi supported by friends, whom they were with at the time of the murder.
The High Court petition alleges a bloodstained shirt was found 10 meters from an Upper Galilee hitchhiking post where Gadeker dropped off one of the teens. Haaretz has learned that several lab tests ruled out the presence of blood on the shirt.
Zadorov's defense is expected to argue on Monday that his confession was illegally obtained. Defense attorneys will also argue that while Zadorov gave several accounts of certain actions, he never could provide the location of the murder weapon.