From the Liveblog of
Monday, June 15, 2026
17-year-old charged with murder of Olga and Ruslan Prihodko
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A 17-year-old is charged in court on two counts of aggravated murder for the killing of Olga and Ruslan Prihodko, a Ukrainian-Israeli couple found dead last month in the Judean foothills.
The teenager, a Lod resident whose name is barred from publication, is accused of fatally shooting the husband and wife while they were on a weekend excursion searching for relics near Mishmar Ayalon.
State prosecutors say the teenager got into an argument with the couple after they refused to give him metal detectors they had brought with them to the forest.
He then allegedly left the area for his family’s farm nearby, where he had hidden a Glock pistol he’d purchased earlier that year, then came back to shoot both point-blank in the head.
Prosecutors say that after killing the pair, the teenager stole their two metal detectors, credit cards and phones, then fled the scene. He is accused of attempting to hide the murder weapon at his house.
The couple leaves behind a teenage son.
Police initially probed the double homicide as a nationalistically motivated murder, as the suspect is an Arab Israeli. However, they changed direction after realizing Ruslan had prior acquaintance with the teenager, having met him at least twice while searching for artifacts.
The Times of Israel Community.