Key suspect in nightclub stabbing turns self in

The primary suspect in the murder of an off-duty soldier outside a Raanana nightclub turned himself in to police on Tuesday, maintaining his innocence.

The 23-year-old arrived at the Kfar Saba police station, accompanied by his parents and attorney, and firmly denied his involvement in the death of 19-year-old Iftach Grady.

“I didn’t do anything. You’ll see that on the [surveillance] cameras,” he told journalists waiting outside the station.

Police issued a threat to the suspect on Monday, saying that should he fail to appear, his name and pictures would be revealed to the media, according to a Channel 2 report. The warning came when Israeli forces failed to locate the assailant in a manhunt launched after he fled the scene of the crime. 

Four other men implicated in the case are in custody, three of whom will be held for another week, and the fourth for an additional two days.

Grady, a former resident of the Tel Aviv suburb of Givatayim, was fatally stabbed outside the nightclub overnight Sunday.

The victim suffered multiple stab wounds to the chest and was pronounced dead at Meir hospital in Kfar Saba.

Yifa Yaakov contributed to this report.