From the testimony of this witness as well as the testimony of other witnesses, it can be understood that a certain mystery surrounded the deceased's conduct. According to the witness, the day before the murder, at about 11:40 P.M., when the witness was delivering deliveries at night, he noticed the deceased walking with a sock hat on his head, near the place where he was murdered. The witness also noted that the deceased usually walked around wearing a sock hat, since he had baldness and was cold (p. 257, lines 9-12). Yes, a short time earlier, in the same place where he had noticed the deceased, as detailed above (when he was walking with a sock hat on his head), he also saw the deceased's friend, a man known as "Barzalim", at around 10:30 P.M., with a white van (p. 257, lines 10-13). The next day, in a conversation that Rotem had with the deceased (after Rotem had mentioned to him that he had seen "Barzalim" and the deceased the day before), the deceased replied that he and "Barzalim" were in the framework of an activity after someone (see p. 258 of the transcript).
- From the above, it can be learned that the deceased was in contact with Mrs. L. and she sought to end the relationship with him. The deceased did not accept the breakup, was very upset, and turned to his friend, Rotem Amar, who lent him his electric bicycle. The deceased covered his face with a scarf and turned to *** Street in Afula, where the deceased made rounds near L.'s house. The accuser brought before us a series of witnesses whose purpose was to prove that the deceased had no disputes with anyone. However, as we have seen, witnesses who knew the deceased well, and claimed good friendship relations between them, did not know how to mention a definite and clear detail as to the deceased's work and occupations leading up to his murder. This issue remained shrouded in mystery and most of the witnesses noted that there was a certain mystery surrounding his activities and even his conduct, and it was evident that the deceased was not closely acquainted with him, on the basis of which it can be determined that the deceased was indeed not in conflict with anyone.
The Defendant as a Suspect in the Murder and What Led to His Arrest
- The murder took place on 21 January 2016 late at night. Yes, the defendant was arrested on February 28, 2016. Investigator Eli Ben Lulu (hereinafter: "Ben Lulu") described in his main interrogation the course of the investigation, its development, and explained how this investigation led to the defendant's arrest.
- Ben Lulu stated (see his testimony, pp. 96 + 97 of the transcript) that when they approached the investigation of the incident, two main questions were before the investigators; The first was what the deceased's actions were on the night and at the scene of the murder. Second, what was the motive that underpinned the murder? After collecting evidence, the answer to the first question became clear, according to which the deceased arrived at the scene in order to track and trace his ex-partner; As for the question of motive, no answer was found. The police continued the process of gathering evidence, searching for every possible piece of information. Among other things, security cameras were seized, and watching the product of one of them showed the image of a young man chasing the deceased. Yes, as detailed above, during the initial stages of the investigation, the police arrived at the home of the defendant's parents, where they met the mother, who was very upset and hysterical; "The mother was very hysterical, she shouted, said something about the son, where is my son...(p. 97 of the transcript, lines 20-21).
In this context, the learned defense counsel waived the cross-examination of the defendant's mother, Ms. M. Yes, there was no dispute between the parties, because on the night of the murder, when police officers came to Mrs. M., she was looking for her son, she did not know where he was, and she even sent him, through her cell phone, text messages indicating that she did not know about the place where he was staying at the time {see Exhibits P/135 (Output of Conversations and Messages) and P/205 (Mother's Statement to the Police) as well as p. 246 of the transcript (lines 23 onwards)}.