Police say couple in capital murdered neighbor, then buried him in garden
Police arrested a Jerusalem couple on Sunday on suspicion of murdering their neighbor, dismembering his body and burying it in a nearby garden.
Information regarding the arrest was only cleared by police for publication on Tuesday.
The couple, both 44 years old, were arrested after two teenagers allegedly saw them pushing a cart holding a large black bag on Saturday and reported the incident to police. A few hours later, a friend of the 59-year-old victim came to the police station to report him as missing. The incident occurred in southern Jerusalem.
“At this point, the police investigators understood that there was a connection between the two incidents and the investigation was carried out by the central police unit,” the Jerusalem District Police said in a statement.
Shortly after the investigators arrived at the victim’s house, a search warrant was issued by the court to search the house of the suspects.
Police also started searching the nearby area and found the tools allegedly used to kill the man and a gated garden, which was locked, next to the suspects’ home. The dismembered body was located buried in the garden, police said.
“The investigation raises the suspicion that the suspects dug a hole at the edge of the garden and threw the body parts of the victim inside. They then covered the hole with dirt and obscured the evidence,” police said.
The murder was allegedly motivated by some sort of conflict between the couple and their neighbor, according to police, who said the couple tied themselves to the murder while under interrogation.
Attorney Ariel Harman, who is defending the male client, spoke with Hebrew media and said his client has been sent for a psychiatric evaluation.
The Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court extended the detention of the suspects until May 24.