Man who confessed to killing son decades ago said to retract admission

Asher Goldstein, who confessed to murdering his 5-year-old son in 1974, two years before he killed his wife, at a court hearing in Eilat, August 24, 2025 (Yehuda Ben Itach/Flash90)
Asher Goldstein, who confessed to murdering his 5-year-old son in 1974, two years before he killed his wife, at a court hearing in Eilat, August 24, 2025 (Yehuda Ben Itach/Flash90)

An octogenarian who admitted this week to killing his 5-year-old son over 50 years ago has retracted his confession, Hebrew media outlets report.

A judge at a hearing for Asher Goldstein, 88, confirms that he retracted his confession to police, but nonetheless orders him to remain behind bars until another hearing in six days, Channel 12 news and Ynet report.

Saying he sought to clear his conscience, Goldstein told police he drowned his son in the sea in Eilat in 1974, describing it as an act of mercy due to the boy’s cerebral palsy. The death was ruled an accident at the time.

Goldstein later served 11 years in prison for murdering his wife.

In his decision, Judge Guy Avnon writes that despite his age, the seriousness of the suspected crime does not allow him to release Goldstein on bail, Ynet reports.

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