17-Year-Old from Lod to Be Indicted in Murder of Couple in Central Israel

After police solved the case, prosecutors are set to file an indictment today, Monday, against a 17-year-old from Lod for the murder last month of Russlan and Olga Frihoudko in central Israel. Indictments will also be filed against two West Bank residents for firearms offenses and illegal entry into Israel.

The couple was found dead on May 22 in their car in an open area near Moshav Mevohoron, in the Gezer Regional Council area. Relatives said they had left home that morning for a trip without naming a destination, and family members tried several times to reach them during the day but got no answer. They said the pair was ordinary, with no suicidal or psychological background, and that the incident was completely out of character.

Police initially examined whether this was a murder-suicide, but their assessment shifted to double murder. Police Commissioner Danny Levy assigned the probe to the Central District’s major crimes unit, which worked intensively with the Shin Bet. Yamam officers arrested several suspects, including the teenager accused of carrying out the killings, and investigators considered all possibilities, including a nationalist motive. Channel 13 later reported that police believed the suspect knew the couple beforehand.

The suspect reenacted the crime at the scene, and evidence showed the couple had visited that location dozens of times before. During the reconstruction, he said he threw the pistol into a fire he set. As the investigation progressed, police concluded the motive was likely criminal, not nationalist. Last week, Channel 13 reported that police recovered the murder weapon in a field near Kfar Yona, and forensic testing matched it ballistically to the bullets. Investigators also found that after the killing the teen tried to hide his involvement by using the victims’ credit cards, concealing the gun, and taking other steps to obstruct the probe. Central District Commander Amir Cohen called him “a vile murderer” and said the investigation showed that “there is nowhere to hide from the Israel Police.”