Father suspected of stabbing to death daughter, 21, in Beit Shemesh, killing himself
Liana Savenok and her brother had restraining order against their father; mother sent son, 17, to check when Liana didn’t answer calls; teen discovered bodies of his sister, dad
A 43-year-old man is suspected of stabbing his 21-year-old daughter to death before killing himself in a Beit Shemesh apartment on Saturday in an apparent murder-suicide.
The woman was later named as Liana Savenok and her father was Alexander Savenok.
The Magen David Adom emergency service said the two were found with stab wounds and medics were unable to revive them. Police said they have opened an investigation.
According to Hebrew-language media reports, it was suspected that Alexander stabbed Liana to death before killing himself.
The Ynet news site said he had been issued with a restraining order and was not supposed to be in close proximity to either his daughter or her 17-year-old brother. Channel 12 said he had a history of mental health problems.
Liana Savenok was killed at her mother’s home — the mother was on vacation in the north of the country and asked her son to go and check on his sister because she wasn’t answering her phone after their father had said he was going to the apartment.
The son went to the apartment, where he found the bodies of his sister and father.
Activists have long complained that not enough is done to prevent violence against women in Israel, particularly in cases known to the authorities.
According to researchers at the Hebrew University-based Israel Observatory on Femicide, June was the deadliest month this year so far for the murder of women.
A study by the center examining the first half of 2022 found a 71 percent increase in femicide relative to the same period last year.
The center said in a January report that there were 16 cases of women murdered in Israel by a relative or a partner throughout 2021, and 21 cases in 2020.
