17-year-old given life sentence for 2005 murder of Rehovot teen - Haaretz

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Thu., September 27, 2007 ,

Israel Time: 16:22 (EST+7)

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		Ma'ayan Sapir's mother (center) being comforted during the sentencing of her daughter's killer in Tel Aviv District Court on Thursday. (Motti Kimche)

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Last update - 20:17 25/01/2007

17-year-old given life sentence for 2005 murder of Rehovot teen

By Nir Hasson, Haaretz Correspondent

The Tel Aviv District Court sentenced a 17-year-old boy on Thursday to life in prison for the 2005 murder of 15-year-old Rehovot resident Ma'ayan Sapir.

The boy is the youngest criminal in Israel to ever receive a life sentence.

The young man was also convicted of raping the victim, and was sentenced to an additional 15 years in prison, to be served concurrently.

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In November 2006 the minor was convicted after the presiding judges rejected the defense attorney's claim that the boy was temporarily insane at the time of the murder due to consumption of alcohol and the sniffing of contact cement vapors. The temporary insanity claim was refuted by a witness who testified to having seen the boy with the victim and having spoken to him.

The murder occurred on May 27, 2005 while the boy was on weekend leave from a closed ward of a facility for criminal youth.

That evening, Sapir left her home and set off in the direction of the city mall just a few hundred meters away. As Sapir was walking, she was met by a the youth who lured her into the grounds of a nearby abandoned school. In a dark corner under a large tree, the boy, who was 16 at the time, raped Sapir and strangled her to death.

The youth was arrested and later confessed to the murder.

The boy did not tell investigators why he murdered Sapir. Police said he appeared confused and only provided them with scattered bits of information.

The defense presented expert testimony of a clinical criminologist who testified that the youth was operating under hallucinations at the time of the murder and could not "tell the difference between right and wrong."

Following his arrest, the boy pretended to stutter and suffer from involuntary tics. However, the investigators exposed the "charade" after he was spotted acting normal when he thought he wasn't being watched.

After the investigation, police said that despite his young age, the suspect is a "veteran criminal" who has accumulated a multitude of drug, violence and property-related charges.

Sapir was an outstanding student, and was active on the student council and in volunteer activities.

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1.	Let him rotten in jail!!	17:30	\|	El_Justiciero	25/01/07

2.	young criminal	18:23	\|	tamtam	25/01/07

3.	I wish we had this type of tough laws.....	18:26	\|	Fritz	25/01/07

4.	Why keep scum like this alive???????	18:42	\|	Realist	25/01/07

5.	Why was he on leave from a closed ward?	19:11	\|	Karen R	25/01/07

6.	Where are Yaakov Sulivan and Clickfool?	20:39	\|	Yonatan	25/01/07

7.	Don`t Judge you will be judged	20:57	\|	Bek	25/01/07

8.	Re #6 `Where are Yaakov...`	21:16	\|	Colin Wright	25/01/07

9.	The Scoundrel Shouldn`t Have a Right for Parole	22:23	\|	Vittorio	25/01/07

10.	Poor and Criminals	23:36	\|	Margaret	25/01/07

11.	Schmucks	23:51	\|	Ariel	25/01/07

12.	I agree with #7 Bek	00:19	\|	Edith	26/01/07

13.	Life in prison beats having to work for a living	03:44	\|	David	26/01/07

14.	Getting Tough	09:33	\|	Frank	26/01/07

15.	Re: Shmucks #11	12:11	\|	Michelle	28/01/07

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