17-year-old remanded over fatal stabbing of his father in Beit Shemesh

A 17-year-old boy was remanded on Sunday by the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court after his arrest a day earlier on suspicion he fatally stabbed his father at the family’s home in Beit Shemesh, west of the capital.

The court said the teen was to be held for a further 10 days.

Police said Saturday that an initial investigation found that an argument had broken out between the man and teen during a meal, which led to the son to stab his father in the upper torso.

Medics arrived at the scene and tried to resuscitate the 47-year-old man but were forced to declare his death. Police said the son fled but was quickly arrested in a nearby building.

According to the Ynet news site, police had been called to the home on a number of occasions during fights between the father and son and the family was known to social services.

The site said that in an initial interrogation, the teen told police that he had been abused by his father and had stabbed him in self-defense.

Neighbors told the news site that the father studied full-time in a kollel, a yeshiva for married men, and had a history of mental illness.

Also on Sunday, a man arrested earlier this month on suspicion of killing his mother, Tamar Masandilov, 52, at her home, also in Beit Shemesh, was ordered to be kept in custody.

Neighbors in Beit Shemesh told media outlets that the son, 27-year-old Shimon Stern, had recently been hospitalized in a psychiatric facility. He is currently undergoing further psychiatric testing.

According to Hebrew media reports, that family is part of the city’s large ultra-Orthodox community. The Ynet news site reported that Masandilov had nine children in total, some of whom were home at the time of the incident, and one of whom called the police.