Woman, 18, found dead in Beersheba; partner arrested on suspicion of murder
Victim’s body found in boyfriend’s home; 25-year-old suspect appears in court, was recently released after jail term for violence toward her
An 18-year-old woman was found dead in her apartment in the southern city of Beersheba overnight, police said in a statement on Saturday.
Officers called to the scene questioned the young woman’s partner before arresting him on suspicion of murder. He was later identified as Roni Shomov, 25, a resident of Beersheba.
Shomov was brought to the Beersheba Magistrate’s Court Saturday evening where his remand was extended until Thursday on suspicion of murder and obstruction of justice, Channel 13 reported.
Police said Shomov has a criminal past and a “pattern of violent behavior.”
According to earlier Hebrew-language reports, Shomov had been freed from prison just six months ago after being jailed for violence toward the victim.
The Ynet news site said that although there were no visible signs of violence to the victim’s body, police decided to arrest the suspect given his past history.
Shomov had called emergency services to report that he had found the young woman unconscious and “surrounded by pills” in the Beersheba apartment, Channel 12 reported Saturday.
The victim has not yet been named. The young woman was said to have recently moved from the coastal city of Netanya to live with Shomov in the south.
An unnamed neighbor told the Ynet news site: “The writing was on the wall. Everyone knew.”
Another neighbor said he heard the two arguing on Friday evening.
Activists have long complained that not enough is done to prevent instances of domestic violence in Israel, particularly in cases where the family is known to authorities.
In July, Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman ordered NIS 55 million ($17 million) be immediately allotted to efforts to prevent and treat domestic violence.
The money has been earmarked to partially fund the Welfare Ministry’s National Plan for the Prevention of Domestic Violence, which was approved in 2017, but has seen less than half the designated funds transferred for its implementation.
A June report from the state comptroller found that inadequate funding and chaotic policies for identifying and dealing with domestic violence were hampering efforts to curb the issue.
In 2019, five women were allegedly murdered by their partners while last year the figure jumped to 13, the report said. Up until Saturday’s incident, the number of suspected cases in 2021 stood at 19.
