Decision and Proposed Outcome
Therefore, I would like to propose to my colleagues that the defendant be convicted of the murder under aggravated circumstances of the late Ben Dadon, on March 23, 2021, in accordance with section 301a(a)(7) of the Penal Law, 5737-1977.
| Ariel Vago, Vice President (Ret.) - Presiding Judge |
The Honorable JudgeA. Lon Infeld:
I agree with the main conclusion reached by my colleague on the factual level, and even with his reasoning, almost all of them. At the same time, I would like to share a number of insights into the evidence, and disagree with the legal conclusion.
INSS Insight
In writing the main opinion, my colleague reviewed the evidence in depth and breadth. My colleague quite rightly refrained from going into the details of evidence that would have been of no use in any way to the decision before us (such as the findings of the scene inside the house, the significance of the blood formations, etc.). However, although my colleague did not touch any of the thick trees of the forest, my colleague referred in great detail to all the trees planted by the parties before us in this lengthy trial. I would like to raise my head above the trees, in order to look at the forest as a whole.
There is no dispute that the deceased was stabbed to death on the morning of that election day. The dispute relates only to the question of the identity of the assailant. In my opinion, in this case there is a series of independent and separate evidence, from different and independent sources, each of which alone is sufficient to convince us that the defendant was the stabber, beyond a reasonable doubt, or very close to it. In any event, the combination of all the evidence proves the identity of the murderer, far beyond the threshold required in a criminal trial.
Res Gasta Recorded
The first source is institutional recordings, which document Res Gesta. The neighbor Y.A. called to call for help in real time. He reported "stabbing with knives" to the police, and demanded "urgent, urgent" (see P/18A). But his call to MDA, which includes hysterical screams from real time, is the most important in the matter of identification (P/19A). Even before the operator can react, he hears "Leave him alone", the operator Amir tries to introduce himself and hears shouts that turn into screams, as we heard in the hall, "Leave him alone, oh come on, leave him, don't leave him, don't leave him, from the light of atonement for you, from the light (screaming), atonement for you, from the light, oh God." There are other shouts that are not from the informant, and the operator tries to figure out what the address is. In the meantime, the neighbor shouts, among other things, "Come quickly," "An urgent ambulance," "Maor Maor, wow, I can't see it (screaming)," "Come quickly," and "There's a stabbing here, call an ambulance and the police quickly."