Key Suspect in Teenager's Brutal Murder Dies in Custody
Yosef Haim Ben-David, the central suspect in the 2014 murder of Palestinian teenager Mohammed Abu Khdeir, has died. Ben-David was transferred from prison to a hospital where his death was pronounced. He had been convicted of the abduction and murder of Abu Khdeir, a 16-year-old from Shuafat in East Jerusalem, who was on his way to morning prayers during Ramadan.
Ben-David and two of his minor nephews kidnapped Abu Khdeir, beat him, and then set him on fire while he was still alive in the Jerusalem Forest. The autopsy revealed Abu Khdeir died from severe burns. The motive for the murder was nationalist, carried out in revenge for the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers days earlier.
Ben-David was sentenced to life imprisonment plus an additional 20 years. His two nephews, who were minors at the time of the crime, were also convicted. One received a life sentence, and the other was sentenced to 21 years. Ben-David's conviction was delayed due to questions about his mental state, but he was eventually found fit to stand trial.
The Supreme Court upheld the convictions and sentences in 2018. Justice Yitzhak Amit described the murder as "extreme, despicable, cruel, shocking, brutal, wicked, disgusting, and contrary to basic human morality." The murder sparked widespread condemnation and riots in East Jerusalem and other locations.
Abu Khdeir was posthumously recognized as a victim of hostility, but his family requested his name be removed from the memorial for victims of hostility on Mount Herzl.
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