Israeli man convicted of murdering his three young children

[News_Editor]

Israeli man convicted of murdering his three young children

2011-07-10 23:32:41 GMT+7 (ICT)

TEL AVIV (BNO NEWS) -- An Israeli man was convicted on Sunday of killing his three young children about a year ago, the local Haaretz newspaper reported.

Itai Ben Dror was convicted in a courtroom in the city of Petach Tikvah, 10.6 kilometers (6.58 miles) east of Tel Aviv, on the basis of his prior confession. The court proceedings did not include witness testimony.

Ben Dror killed his three children, aged 10, 8, and 5 in their apartment in Netanya, 30 kilometers (18.64 miles) north of Tel Aviv, a year ago. The children were living with their mother at the time of the murders but they had come to visit him at his home. The killing happened on his wife's birthday, but Ben Dror denied that he wanted to take revenge upon his ex-wife.

"You don't need so many knives in order to commit suicide, and not on my birthday. I know that he did it all in order to cause me great pain and sorrow. I won't rest or relax until I get what I want - three life sentences," the mother of the children and Ben Dror's ex-wife, Lilach Shem-Tov, said.

Ben Dror's defense lawyer Ran Alon said in court that his client had acquired knives and pills because he wanted to commit suicide. A week before the murder, however, he decided to take his children's lives "to save them from the banality of life and allow them to live forever."

Alon intends to claim that Ben Dror deserves a reduced sentence because he suffers from psychiatric problems. Prosecutor Ronit Poznansky however told the court that she has a psychological report that contends that the murders were not committed due to a psychiatric illness.

The court decided to send Ben Dror for a psychiatric evaluation.

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