Haifa couple charged with murdering neighbor to steal $20

A couple from the northern city of Haifa were charged on Tuesday with murdering their neighbor in order to steal NIS 73 ($20) from him.

According to an indictment filled with the Haifa District Court, Tamer Hujirat, 26, and Karen Samanudi, 25, were unemployed at the time of the alleged murder and would occasionally ask the neighbor, Yuri Bogozamov, to lend them money.

On July 10, a week after Bogozamov lent the couple NIS 2,000 ($560), Hujirat and Samanudi went up to his apartment armed with a knife in order to demand more money from him.

When Bogozamov refused, Hujirat struck him on the head with a kiddush cup, a ritual wine goblet, and put the knife to his throat, demanding that he give the couple his ATM card and PIN number.

After going through his wallet and taking NIS 50 ($14), Hujirat stabbed Bogozamov in the neck and chest, with the former wound resulting in Bogozamov’s death, according to the indictment.

רצח על 73 ₪: תאמר חוג'יראת וקרן סמנדרי מחיפה מואשמים ברצח שכנם יורי בוגומזוב לפני כ-3 שבועות. בני הזוג שדדו ממנו 73 ₪, רצחו והציתו את הדירה pic.twitter.com/32Wp9SInyO

— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) August 1, 2017

After the stabbing, Samanudi took Bogozamov’s ATM card and went to a nearby bank, but was unable to withdraw any money.

Upon Samanudi’s return from the bank, she and Hujirat searched Bogozamov’s apartment for money, finding a bag of coins totaling NIS 23 ($6.50).

Hujirat then cut open a number of gas lines in the apartment and lit them on fire, allegedly to thwart an investigation into the murder by burning the apartment.

The couple then hid the knife in the entrance to the building and hid the credit card under tiles in their shower. They were arrested later that day.

In addition to murder, the couple was indicted for aggravated robbery, arson and obstruction of justice.