Police Recover Weapon Used in Couple’s Murder in the Shfela, Ballistic Match Found
First reported: Police have managed to get their hands on the gun used in the murder of Ruslan and Olga Prihodko last month in the Shfela, it was reported for the first time tonight, Tuesday, on the main edition. Investigators from the Central District’s major crimes unit, which is handling the case, found the weapon in a field near Karmey Yosef, and laboratory testing found a ballistic match between it and the bullets. An indictment is also expected to be filed against the suspect soon.
As reported by News 13, after a joint situational assessment held last week by the commander of the Central District in the police, Superintendent Amir Cohen, with the Shin Bet, suspicion strengthened that the motive for the double murder was criminal. The detention of four suspects, including a minor suspected of carrying out the murder, was extended in court, while four additional suspects were released under restrictive conditions.
The couple was found on May 22 this year lifeless in their car in an open area near Moshav Mishmar Ayalon in the Gezer Regional Council. At first, investigators examined the possibility that this was a murder-suicide incident, but police increasingly believed it was a double murder. Police Commissioner Danny Levi assigned the investigation to the Central District’s major crimes unit, and מאז investigators have been conducting an intensive probe in cooperation with the Shin Bet. Yamam fighters arrested several suspects in connection with the incident, including a minor who is suspected of carrying out the murder.
As part of the investigation, all possible leads were examined, including a nationalist motive, but last week News 13 reported for the first time that police believe there was prior acquaintance between the murder suspect and the couple. The suspect reenacted the act at the scene, and material from the investigation indicated that the couple had visited the location where the murder occurred dozens of times before. During the reenactment, the suspect claimed he threw the gun into a fire he had set. He later retracted his confession, saying it was extracted from him under pressure.
According to relatives of Ruslan and Olga, the two left in the morning for a trip without specifying an exact destination. The family members also said that throughout the day they tried to reach them several times, but got no answer. In their view, this was a normal couple with no suicidal or psychological background, and that this was an unusual incident that did not fit their behavior.
