Grandfather: I told Marie that Rose had an accident, wouldn't return

Rose Pizem's grandfather testified on Tuesday that he had notified the 4-year-old girl's mother, Marie-Charlotte Renault, of her death before they were both taken into custody.

"I told Marie that Rose had an accident and that she won't return," said Ronny Ron, who is charged with murdering his 4-year-old granddaughter last May and dumping her body in Tel Aviv's Yarkon River.

Ron's testimony at the Petah Tikva District Court contradicts his previous assertion that Renault had no previous knowledge of her daughter's death.

Ron, who was also Renault's live-in lover, said that after he told Marie of her daughter's "accident," she passed out and later locked herself in a bathroom for several hours. "She asked me to arrange tickets to France for her and her girls," he said.

Police believe Ron killed the girl alone, but they also suspect that her mother was more involved in the incident than she let on.