Two 17-year-olds released to house arrest; PM "shocked and worried" by brutal homicide.
By YAAKOV LAPPINwater 248.88(photo credit: Channel 10)
The ten suspects in Friday night's brutal homicide on a north Tel Aviv beach were all brought for remand extension hearings overnight Saturday and early Sunday morning.
Four of the suspects were remanded for ten days, while three others, including two minors, were ordered to remain in custody until the end of the week.
A 17-year-old girl from Petah Tikva and a 17-year-old female soldier from Kfar Saba, both suspected of aiding and abetting the murder and obstructing the investigation, were released to house arrest, pending an appeal by prosecutors.
A tenth suspect's hearing was yet to have taken place.
The 59-year-old victim of the murder was sitting on a bench with his wife and daughter when he was allegedly beaten to death by a group of young men from Jaljulya, east of Hod Hasharon.
Police arrested seven suspects, five young men aged 20, and two women from Petah Tikva aged 17 and 19, on Friday night.
On Saturday evening, three more suspects were arrested, also from Jaljulya.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was briefed by Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch on Saturday night on the murder, as well as on the two mutilated bodies recently found in central Israel.
The Prime Minister's Office said that Netanyahu urged the minister to bring those responsible to justice speedily, and emphasized the importance of fighting against crime and thuggery.
The prime minister was shocked and worried by the murders, the PMO statement added.
Police are seeking a court order prohibiting publication of photographs of any of the suspects in the Tel Aviv beach lynch ahead of a line-up.
According to an initial police investigation, the Arab men, who were allegedly intoxicated, made a comment to the victim, named as Leonard "Arik" Karp, as they walked past his family.
Karp responded with a remark, and a verbal confrontation ensued. The altercation quickly turned violent, with the youths physically assaulting the family.
Karp's wife and 25-year-old daughter fled the scene, and were chased by members of the gang who continued to attack them. The wife, who sustained light wounds, and daughter managed to telephone the police.
When the women returned to the bench, they found that Karp had disappeared.
Officers under the direction of the city's police chief, Cmdr. Shahar Ayalon, launched a large-scale search for the missing man, and were assisted by a police helicopter.
Hours later, his body was recovered from the waterfront near the Israel Electric Corporation building.
Police believe he left the beach promenade, leaving a trail of blood behind him, in a bid to escape his attackers, and was either beaten to death or drowned by members of the gang who caught up with him.
Meanwhile, the suspects fled to a forest. Eventually, one of the women from Petah Tikva contacted the police, leading to the arrests.
On Saturday afternoon, the 17-year-old from Petah Tivka accompanied officers to the scene of the killing and reenacted the crime.
Asst.-Cmdr. David Gaz, of the Yarkon police subdistrict, described the attack as "a severe incident of thuggery."
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