Bar Noar murder suspect reportedly confessed

Police say Hagai Felician incriminated himself as gunman in gay youth club killings to an undercover officer planted in his cell

Police on Sunday said Hagai Felician, the prime suspect in the 2009 Bar Noar murder case, confessed his actions to an undercover officer planted in his jail cell.

Felician was remanded Sunday for eight more days in custody by Tel Aviv Magistrates Court, and one of his relatives — suspected of involvement in the murders — was ordered to be kept in custody for three more days. A third suspect, Tarlan Hankishayev, was released.

“You have everything on me, you can give yourself a pat on the back,” Felician reportedly told investigators after he realized he had spilled the beans.

Police also have recordings of Felician taped by a state informant discussing the shooting, saying, “We did it smoothly, no one found out, it was quiet for four years.”

In addition, Felician told the informant on the tapes that he carried out the attack because his 15-year-old relative was sexually assaulted by an LGBT activist well-known in the gay community.

Hankishayev’s attorney said the court’s decision to release his client while ordering the others to remain in custody was proof he had nothing to do with the shooting.

Last week police announced a massive breakthrough in the 2009 Bar Noar shooting, with the arrest of three suspects and a deal signed with a state witness.

On August 1, 2009, a masked man entered the Bar Noar gay youth center on Tel Aviv’s Nahmani street and began shooting. Counselor Nir Katz, 26, and 16-year-old Liz Trubeshi were killed and dozens were injured. Approximately 40 people were present at the center that night.