Mother, 4 daughters she allegedly killed, buried in Jerusalem

Hundreds attend funeral in Givat Shaul; father bids tearful farewell to young daughters, aged 9, 7, 2 and 11 months, who died in apparent murder-suicide

Police and rescuers at the scene where a woman and four children were killed in a fire at an apartment in Jerusalem on January 1, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Police and rescuers at the scene where a woman and four children were killed in a fire at an apartment in Jerusalem on January 1, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The four sisters killed in a suspected murder-suicide carried out by their mother in a Jerusalem apartment Sunday, were buried late Monday in the capital’s Har Hamenuhot cemetery in Givat Shaul.

The father of the girls, ranging in age from nine years to 11 months, gave a tearful eulogy at their funeral, quoting from the book of Job in the Bible: “‘God giveth and God taketh way,’ but what did he take? Small children?”

Hundreds of people were in attendance, as the country, and the French-Israeli community in Jerusalem in particular, grappled with the tragedy. The couple immigrated from France more than a decade ago. The family’s names have not been released to the public.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat also eulogized the children, saying that a “heavy mourning has descended on Jerusalem and on the State of Israel. We have no words of comfort. We are here to help you, the [remaining family] to stay strong.”

The five bodies were discovered Sunday afternoon by emergency rescuers responding to a fire at the family’s sixth-story apartment on Hebron Road. The four daughters, a 9-year-old, a 7-year-old, a 2-year-old and an 11-month-old were found in a locked room that had been set ablaze, allegedly by their 36-year-old mother who had then taken her own life by hanging, according to reports.

Graves dug for four young sisters believed to have been killed by their mother in a suspected murder-suicide on January 1, 2017. They were buried in Jerusalem on January 2, 2017. (Screenshot/Ynet)
Graves dug for four young sisters believed to have been killed by their mother in a suspected murder-suicide on January 1, 2017. They were buried in Jerusalem on January 2, 2017. (Screenshot/Ynet)

An autopsy examination earlier Monday of two of the girls indicated that they were strangled to death before their mother set fire to the room.

The father at first refused to allow an autopsy of his daughters, but eventually agreed to a police compromise to only perform an autopsy on the two older girls to avoid dragging the matter through the courts.

Police reportedly pushed for the autopsies after finding signs of violence on the bodies of the children. The autopsies on the older girls, aged nine and seven, indicated Monday that it was likely that they had been strangled by their mother before the room was set ablaze.

It is unknown whether she also strangled the two younger children, a 2-year-old and an 11-month old baby, though Walla news quoted a spokesman for the family as saying that their bodies also exhibited signs of violence.

The father’s lawyer, Dror Schusheim, told Channel 2 Monday that his client has been crying nonstop, asking, “Where is my family?”

The man “is totally broken, and the same with the people around him. His parents came from abroad, his brother is also here, and there are others around him supporting him,” Schussheim said.

On Sunday, the father reportedly tried to call his wife several times and when she didn’t answer, he left work early and went home, Channel 2 said. On the way, he was met by police and social services who broke the news of the tragedy to him.

“I don’t understand how this happened. There were no warning signs. There were problems after the birth and I knew she was in poor spirits like in the past. I figured it would pass and we would get over it. But nothing would lead me to believe that she would do a thing like this,” Schussheim quoted the father as saying.

“This was a good family. Everyone is shocked,” a member of the French-Israeli community told Israel Hayom news site. “The grandmother is a doctor… who treated the mother, who was receiving daily psychiatric treatment. The grandmother spoke with the mother on the morning of the tragedy and offered to come and help her. The mother said that there was no need. That was their final conversation.”

Social workers were sent to the building to help neighbors cope with the tragedy and to the schools where the girls studied.

Moshe Tur-Paz, the head of the Jerusalem municipality education department, said there were no warning signs ahead of the tragedy.

“As far as is known, the girls did not show any signs of distress,” he said, according to the Ynet news website.

The education administration provided psychological services for students who attended the same classes as the deceased girls.

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