The Herald

Family calls for murder probe into death of Scot at hostel

Relatives dispute police report on ‘rare condition’

- STEPHEN NAYSMITH SOCIAL AFFAIRS CORRESPOND­ENT

THE family of a woman who died in Israel last year are still insisting she may have been murdered despite a police report saying she died of natural causes.

Julie Pearson, 38, was found collapsed at a hostel in the Red Sea resort of Eilat in November last year, after moving to Israel in search of a better life. Police say she died at the scene. However, her Scottish family have only just received an autopsy report that claimed she suffered internal bleeding caused by a rare condition, and her death was of natural causes.

They dispute this – she had no known medical condition like this – and claim she may have been murdered by her boyfriend, who beat her up days before her death and who had previously been convicted of attacking her.

Deborah Pearson, of Blackburn West Lothian – Julie’s aunt – said the authoritie­s had taken eight months to provide relatives with a copy of the report from Israeli pathologis­ts, which concluded her death was caused by idiopathic spontaneou­s intraperit­oneal haemorrhag­e.

It also referred to the fact Ms Pearson had been drinking. But the report, which she and Julie’s mother Angela and father John, of Dundee, only received this week, is in Hebrew.

“We are looking for a specialist profession­al translator, who can cope with the medical terminolog­y,” Ms Pearson said.

“It has taken eight months to get this report from the forensic institute, via Interpol and then the British Embassy. We received the report on Monday, but even then three pages were missing. We were supplied with those on Tuesday.”

Already, however, Ms Pearson claims to have had a conversati­on with a medic who conceded the official version of events may not be accurate. “They couldn’t explain her internal bleeding. I’ve spoken to a doctor at the Forensic Institute and he told me it is possible that the beating contribute­d to her death.”

Julie, a hotel worker, decided to start a new life in Israel in 2014 and was seeking citizenshi­p of the country.

Originally from Kinross, she had a difficult time in Eilat and had an on-off relationsh­ip with Amjad Khatib, a Palestinia­n man who had a string of criminal conviction­s, and who police know assaulted her hours before her death.

The family later released graphic photograph­s of Julie in her casket, which clearly show bruising all over her face, but the Eilat police now consider the case closed.

“Those photos are with make-up and don’t show you the other bruises all over her body,” Deborah Pearson said. “Amjad Khatib was questioned but not charged. I think they may be covering up because they have made a lot of mistakes.”

Errors began from the start, when neither relatives nor the British

‘‘ They couldn’t explain her internal bleeding. Adoctortol­dmeitis possible the beating contribute­d to death

Embassy were informed of Julie’s death. “I have an email from the embassy stating the Eilat police never informed anyone of Julie’s death and that they admit their failure was due to human error,” Ms Pearson says.

Ms Pearson is holding a charity event next weekend at which Susan Boyle will sing and which Rangers FC have backed with raffle prizes. This will raise funds towards translatio­n of the report and a legal challenge to help get justice for Julie, her aunt said.

“Once we have their report translated, we want them to reopen the case and overturn the cause of death,” she says. “We want justice for Julie.”

Tickets for the concert on July 23 at Blackburn Bowling Club, West Lothian, are available from justicefor­julie@hotmail.com

 ??  ?? JULIE PEARSON: Was found collapsed at a hostel in the Red Sea resort of Eilat last November.
JULIE PEARSON: Was found collapsed at a hostel in the Red Sea resort of Eilat last November.
 ??  ?? SUSAN BOYLE: Will sing at an event to raise money that will pay for the autopsy report to be translated into English and to begin a legal challenge.
SUSAN BOYLE: Will sing at an event to raise money that will pay for the autopsy report to be translated into English and to begin a legal challenge.

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