Man who attacked doctor in Rehovot charged with attempted murder

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Two weeks after 58-year-old Dr. Marius Gai, deputy head of the urology department at Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot, was viciously attacked by a 64-year-old outpatient, prosecutors in the case filed an indictment against the assailant charging him with attempted murder. According to the indictment sheet, Ariel Shmilov arrived at the hospital armed with a screwdriver, and insisted that his chronic kidney stone problem demanded immediate surgery. After the secretary in the ward gave him a date for him to return, Shmilov said he would not leave until he spoke with Dr. Gai. The indictment detailed how upon meeting with Dr. Gai, Shmilov ceaselessly yelled at him, and when the doctor tried to go into the secretary's office in order review the suspect's file, Shmilov attacked him. "The accused pulled out a screwdriver, raised it, and stabbed the doctor in the throat with tremendous force...with the intent to kill," the indictment read. As a result of the attack, Dr. Gai suffered damage to his spinal cord, shoulder and abdomen. He has since been upgraded to moderate condition from the serious but stable condition in which he was admitted to Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer. According to his wife, it was not yet known how much paralysis he would suffer.