Jerusalem Police Solve Killing of 3-Year-Old, Father to Be Charged

Jerusalem District police said they have solved the killing of a 3-year-old boy from East Jerusalem and that a prosecutor’s statement will be filed today against the child’s father, who is suspected of murder. The incident happened about three weeks ago, on June 6, when the toddler from Ras al-Amud in Jerusalem arrived at hospital in critical condition and was later pronounced dead despite medical efforts.

Investigators immediately opened an intensive probe into the circumstances of the death. Although the autopsy did not strengthen the suspicion that the boy died from unnatural causes, police said the evidence gathered over the following weeks shifted suspicion toward the father. He was questioned repeatedly and, according to police, eventually connected himself to the acts and reenacted them.

Police suspect the father used a plastic bag to suffocate the child. His detention was extended several times by the court. Now that the evidentiary basis has matured, prosecutors are expected in the coming days to file an indictment and request that he remain in custody until the end of the proceedings.

Police also said that since the start of the year, 134 Arab citizens in Israel have been murdered, compared with 120 last year.