Partner of woman killed after falling from car suspected of murder

The partner of a 19-year-old Israeli woman who was killed Monday after falling out of a moving car in the northern West Bank was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of murder.

Police on Tuesday evening said that while they had no concrete proof the 34-year-old man was responsible for the woman’s death, he had become a suspect after offering contradictory testimony under police interrogation.

The suspect, who was not named, was due to be brought before the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court for extension of his remand.

Police on Monday had originally said the woman jumped from the car to her death during a fight between the couple.

According to initial findings by investigators, the woman fell out of a moving vehicle along Route 5504, between the settlement of Zufim northeast of Qalqilya, and the town of Eyal inside the Green Line, while driving with her partner in the car.

However, when emergency services reached the site of the incident, the car was no longer there, Channel 2 News reported, though the suspect was standing next to the body.

He had allegedly called a relative, who came and drove the car to the area of Zufim. It was only brought back to the scene when the police asked for it, the TV report said.

Furthermore, it was not the driver who called police, but a passerby.

According to a separate report in the Haaretz newspaper, the man told investigators the woman had jumped from the car during a fight between the pair. However, signs of injury from rocks were found on her head, the report said.

The woman, a resident of the central city of Petah Tikvah, whose name has not been released, was declared dead at the scene by Magen David Adom emergency services and the army.

Her body has been sent for an autopsy.