Nova Festival Looting: Man Sentenced to 7 Years for Stealing Equipment from Murder Victim

On October 7, 2026, exactly three years after the massacre, the Beersheba Magistrate's Court sentenced 34-year-old Ram Shahin to seven years in prison for stealing electronic equipment from the site of the Nova festival massacre. Investigators determined that Shahin and accomplices took sound equipment belonging to Matan Lior Mordechai, who was killed by terrorists at the festival. In addition to prison time, Shahin was ordered to pay a 60,000 shekel fine and 75,000 shekels in compensation to the victim's parents. A second participant in the theft, 30-year-old Daniel Chason, received a 40-month sentence. The sentencing for a third defendant, 35-year-old San Lucien Tevel, was postponed due to medical reasons.

Shahin was convicted of aggravated theft and aggravated fraudulent appropriation. He pleaded not guilty, and the court found he had lied and acted manipulatively during the investigation. Chason and Tevel were convicted as part of a plea deal for aiding in theft and attempted fraudulent appropriation. They were arrested in November 2023. Mordechai was a sound operator who posthumously received a medal for heroism for saving lives during the attack. The court noted Shahin "cynically exploited the chaos" at the festival, rejecting his claim of acting altruistically to return the equipment. The judge highlighted that Shahin specifically targeted expensive sound systems worth hundreds of thousands of shekels, indicating premeditation.

Judge Amir Doron described October 7, 2023, as a "day of darkness" for Israel, lamenting the theft of property while victims lay dead and the nation mourned. He characterized the defendants' actions as "extreme and unprecedented moral depravity" and "cowardice in the country's darkest hour," noting they diverted public resources to investigate their crimes. Chason was also found to have attempted to sell Mordechai's stolen property, demonstrating "complete insensitivity." The court stated that those who desecrate the memory of the dead will face severe justice.

Chason was ordered to pay 40,000 shekels to Mordechai's parents. Mordechai's mother, Sara, called the defendants "scum" and "not human" for their actions. According to the indictment, the three defendants initially claimed they were retrieving equipment for a missing friend to gain access to the festival site. After loading a sound system and generator, a tracking system alerted the police, who located the equipment and arrested the driver. One defendant falsely claimed to be Mordechai's business partner, leading to the truck's release. The defendants later returned to the Re'im area, again under false pretenses, and stole a second large sound system.