14-year-old suspected of knifing pregnant sister to death in front of her kids
Aya Hajaj’s father also to be indicted for allegedly ordering slaying, as well as a teen cousin suspected of abetting getaway; investigators say motive for attack unclear
A 14-year-old boy is to be charged on suspicion that he stabbed his pregnant sister to death last month in the central region city of Lod, the Israel Police said Wednesday.
Aya Hajaj’s father, 51, and cousin, 15, are also set to be charged in the homicide. The suspects are all residents of the Bedouin town of Hura in the south. Her father is suspected of having sent his son to carry out the assault.
A senior investigator told the media that police still do not have a motive as to why the woman was killed.
Investigators discovered that the father had a “complicated” relationship with his daughter, he said.
A few months ago the father beat Hajaj, the source said, but the daughter, who was born with a disability, refused to file a complaint, insisting that she had injured herself falling over.
The main suspect was arrested within two hours of the crime and still had blood on his clothing, the source said. A check found that the blood was from the suspect’s sister.
The suspect had also injured himself in the hand during the assault.
איה אבו חג'אג' נרצחה לפני כחודש, ב-20 דקירות סכין מול עיני ילדיה ברחוב בלוד.
היום הותר לפרסום כי הרוצח היה אחיה, בן 14 בלבד. בן דודם, בן 15, נהג ברכב המילוט. מזמין הרצח – אביה של איה.
תיעוד הרצח קשה במיוחד, אז לא אעלה אותו. הפרטים היבשים מזוויעים מספיק pic.twitter.com/UlwWGAbhoj
— רן שמעוני Ran Shimoni (@ran_shimoni) December 27, 2023
The three suspects were arrested at the time and their remand has been extended as the investigation continued. Hajaj’s husband was ruled out as a suspect.
“Already during the first interrogation, a suspicion arose that the youth’s father was the one who sent him to carry out the murder,” the source said, according to the Ynet news outlet.
The three suspects are refusing to cooperate even in the face of evidence that ties them to the murder, he said.
“These are three suspects who, from the moment of their arrest, deny involvement in the incident. Even when they are shown in the interrogation room unequivocal evidence linking them to the murder, the 14-year-old boy smiles and does not answer,” the source said.
CCTV footage of the attack showed the assailant following 25-year-old Hajaj as she walked along a street with her two young children, aged 4 and 5, on their way to kindergarten on November 30.
He then pounced on her from behind and stabbed her over 20 times. The two young children fled, as did passersby.
Hajaj tried to defend herself but was stabbed multiple times in her torso.
The attacker then ran to a waiting car, which sped off. Police said the car was driven by the 15-year-old cousin of Hajaj.
Doctors at Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, where the critically injured Hajaj was taken, performed an emergency cesarean operation in an unsuccessful attempt to save her unborn baby. However, doctors were forced to declare them both dead.
Indictments are expected to be filed by Friday.
