Police say they have arrested a 64 year-old man suspected in the murder of a woman 25 years ago.
Police say Valery Sakovic sexually assaulted and killed Vardit Beckerknut, 27, in the Eshtaol forest near the city of Beit Shemesh in December 1993.
Valery Sakovic, suspect in the murder case of a young woman in 1993, is brought for a court hearing at the Magistrate’s Court in Jerusalem on February 6 2019. The body of the young woman was found near Beit Shemesh in November 1993 with signs of violence on her body and suspicion of rape. (Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90)
According to a statement from police, DNA evidence collected at the crime scene 25 years ago led to the developments in the case.
Sakovich. who returned to Israel in 2018 after 23 years abroad, was yesterday ordered held in jail for 10 days as the investigation continues, police said.
During the court appearance he said he was in the area at the time, but denied killing or raping Beckerknut, according to Hebrew media reports.
Beckerknut, from the nearby town of Kiryat Anavim, was found murdered in the forest two days after last being seen hitchhiking.
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