76-year-old woman found dead in Nahariya; son arrested as suspect

A 76-year-old woman was found dead in her home in the northern city of Nahariya, police said Thursday morning.

The woman’s 40-year-old son was arrested after he called the police.

Police said a preliminary investigation determined the man  had stabbed his mother to death while she slept in her bed.

The woman was the third one murdered since the start of a year with a family member as the main suspect.

On Sunday the Rishon Lezion Magistrate’s Court extended the remand of police officer Amir Raz, who confessed to killing his wife, Diana, earlier this month while their four young children were at home.

Latricia Lanee Pointer was killed in the southern town of Yeruham in January. Her husband called the police and said that he had strangled her.

A national plan to fight domestic violence was approved in 2017 by the Knesset but has since been abandoned, due to lack of funding. Activists say most of the approved NIS 250 million ($71 million) has not yet been transferred to relevant authorities.

Police and social services organizations have reported a major rise in domestic violence complaints since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.