Last update - 00:00 15/11/2007
Court sentences teenage murderer of Ma'ayan Ben-Horin to life term
By Eli Ashkenazi, Haaretz Correspondent
Haifa District Court sentenced the Bedouin teen convicted of murdering 18-year-old Yuvalim resident Ma'ayan Ben-Horin Wednesday to a life term and three years of prison.
The murder took place in January 2007, when the teen, a 17-year-old shepherd from the Galilee killed Ben-Horin near Yodfat. 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 panel of judges, including Shmuel Berliner, Ilan Schiff, and Yael Volner, said that "the defendant's acts are shocking in their severity. In a random meet with the deceased- 'a nature girl'- whose entire life is before her, the defendant sexually attacked the girl and then smashed her skull with a rock until she was lifeless. With that, a human was murdered and a family was left miserable and mourning, leaving a deep scar on their souls."
The judges reiterated in their ruling that sentencing a murderer with a life sentence is not mandatory, especially since the defendant was underage when he committed the crime.
However, they maintained that "the brutal acts of continuously hitting the deceased's skull with a rock, until it shattered, not before sexually assaulting her, compels strict treatment. The 14 months between the time the defendant reaches the age of an adult and the sentencing, should not prevent us from sentencing him to the appropriate punishment, which in this case is a life sentence. Every youth must know that in shocking occurrences such as these, they have no and will not be granted any immunity from maximum punishment."