Ex-Partner Accused of Threatening Murder Victim's Family in Court

During a court hearing in Rishon Lezion, the mother of Leah Cohen Malka, who was murdered by a car bomb on June 4, confronted her daughter's ex-partner, Chen Cohen, who is suspected of ordering the killing. Yehudit Malka cried out to Cohen, "Why did you murder my daughter?" Cohen, who is accused of threatening Leah and her father Yaakov, responded, "You murdered her." Other family members also expressed their grief and anger, with one relative shouting, "You left a young daughter to see what kind of father she has."

Cohen, 37, faces three charges of threats against Leah and her parents, not for the murder itself, as the investigation into the assassination has reached a dead end. The indictment is based on dozens of voice messages and WhatsApp messages, including 95 texts sent to Leah's father, Yaakov, within a three-hour period. Among the threats were "Tomorrow is your judgment day," "An eye for an eye," and "I will sit on her for 200 years."

Yaakov stated that he and Leah had reported the threats to the Rishon Lezion police two to three months before her murder, presenting the voice and text messages. "Her murder was written on the wall," the father said. Leah was killed when a powerful explosive device planted under her car seat detonated as she drove to work in Tel Aviv.

Cohen was arrested hours after the explosion on suspicion of involvement in the murder but was released from custody after nearly a month. His defense attorneys requested to postpone the indictment reading to review all investigation materials, a request granted by Magistrate Judge Tal Ostfeld, who rescheduled the hearing for November 2026.

Approximately three weeks prior, a hearing concerning the custody of their two-year-old daughter, who is being raised by Leah's parents, resulted in a commotion. Leah's friends and family members confronted Cohen, leading to a physical altercation where one person poured liquid on him, another threw a punch, and several hurled insults.