Last update - 00:00 27/05/2007
Ramle man indicted for killing of 7-month pregnant sister in 1994
By Nir Hasson, Haaretz Correspondent
Central District Prosecution on Sunday indicted Yosef Almugrabi, 45, of Ramle, for the alleged murder of his sister Sarah in 1994.
Almugrabi is accused of killing his sister, who was seven-months pregnant, because he suspected she was involved in an extramarital affair.
According to the indictment, Almugrabi became suspicious when she became pregnant while her husband underwent medical treatment. In August 1994 he took Sarah to a graveyard outside Ramle, where he interrogated her. After she allegedly admitted to "making a mistake" her brother told her she would "pay" for her transgressions and strangled her to death. He then hid the body in a nearby cactus farm.
Police arrested Almugrabi the following day, but released him a month later due to lack of evidence. After his release he retrieved her body, set it on fire and spread the ashes in a nearby ravine.
A month and a half ago Almugrabi arrived at the Lod police station and confessed to committing the murder. He said he was plagued by nightmares and even reenacted the murder for police officers. However, he later retracted his confession.