Father accused of murdering his 3 children reenacts crime

Itai Ben Dror accompanied police yesterday to the Netanya home where he lived for the past year, and where he is suspected of having taken the lives of his three young children early Saturday morning.

The suspect, accompanied by investigators from the police's Central District, arrived at 8 A.M. at the home on the city's Borochov Street. Still wearing a medical gown after being hospitalized for his failed suicide attempt, Ben Dror covered his face as he was led into the house and said nothing to the assembled journalists and neighbors.

Investigators were stunned to see the matter-of-fact manner in which Ben Dror recounted how he killed his three children: Or, Roni and Omer, ages 5, 8 and 10 respectively.

The suspect led police to the bedroom, where he said he gave the children sleeping pills. Using a blunt object, he reenacted how he stabbed the children and then laid their bodies one after the other on their separate beds.

	Itai Ben Dror, center, after Monday's reenactment of the murder of his three children.
	Photo by: Itzik Ben Malki

Police said the suspect expressed neither sadness or remorse at his actions. "He was even-tempered, and didn't break down at any stage of the reenactment," said one investigator. "He didn't express any remorse. He conducted the recreation without cracking once, as you'd expect from a father who had done such a thing to his kids."

To the surprise of the police, Ben Dror suddenly stopped the reenactment to ask if he could take some clothing with him back to his jail cell.

Police said they are virtually certain Ben Dror stabbed the children to death, and that his suicide attempt was merely a hoax.

Into Prison Service custody

After passing yesterday's psychiatric examination, the suspect will be transferred today to the authority of the Israel Prison Service, where he will be placed in a jail cell alone under the highest level of suicide watch.

A suspect who is detained on suicide watch is held under 24-hour monitoring, with his hands and feet tied, in a room cleared of any objects - such as cables or wire - that could be used to cause bodily harm. Prison authorities will conduct another psychiatric test on Ben Dror today, and said the conditions of his incarceration would be reexamined after his mental condition is determined.

Special jail cells have been put into use as part of the Prison Service's multi-year suicide-prevention program. The new cells, nicknamed "spaceship cells," have transparent floors and walls entirely covered in soft material that makes it almost impossible for the inmate to cause himself bodily harm. The cells have no electrical outlets, and there are also special bathroom facilities in which hanging oneself is almost impossible.

According to regulations, inmates may only be held in the special cells for a limited time period, with authorities checking on the prisoner's well-being daily.

Seven special cells are already in operation, with five more planned by the end of the year. Each one costs around NIS 350,000 to construct.