Mother and boys killed by husband, father laid to rest

Dor Crasanti-Sela, and her babies, allegedly murdered by their husband and father in the northern town of Migdal on Saturday, were laid to rest at 6 p.m. Sunday in the town’s cemetery, accompanied by hundreds of mourners.

Dor Crasanti-Sela, 23, Yosef, 2, and 8-month-old Binyanim were killed in a quadruple homicide in which a neighbor, Nahman Ataya, 11, was also killed and his brother, Natan, 10, was injured. Nahman and Natan were invited for a Shabbat meal, and the rampage began once the meal finished.

At the family’s request, Dor was buried between her two boys “so that she can protect them.”

“How is it possible to murder your children?” asked Ravit Crasanti, mother of the slain woman, grandmother to the two boys. How could you murder “the wife who fiercely protected you?” she said, according to Channel 10.

“You were an exemplary mother,” a friend eulogized on behalf of Ravit, “a true lioness. Yet in a single moment your light was cut off.”

בבית העלמין במושבה מגדל נטמנו דור כרסנטי, שני ילדיה יוסף ובנימין ובן השכנים נחמן עתיה שנרצחו אתמול. מעצרו של החשוד ברצח הוארך בעשרה ימים pic.twitter.com/UyxvBa91Ej

— כאן חדשות | רשת ב (@ReshetBet) January 29, 2017

Another neighbor said how hard it was to speak of Dor and her boys in the past tense.

“When I think of you, I see angels, souls, who never hurt anyone,” she eulogized. “Dor, since you were a child you always had a halo around your head. Everyone loved you and knew what kind of special soul was within you.”

Dor became religious three years ago, Dor’s mother said.

Ravit Crasanti said she was certain that her son-in-law planned the murders in advance.

“He went and separated himself from everyone,” she said. “On Friday night he sat with me at the table and asked for forgiveness. He said, ‘I’m sorry if I hurt you, I’m sorry if I said anything bad about you.’ He did the same to other people in the community,” she said. “He took his leave of them.”

רווית ואיתן, הוריה של דור כרסנטי שנרצחה אתמול עם שני ילדיה, יוסף ובנימין, מבקשים מעם ישראל: בואו להלוויה שלהם הערב במגדל. pic.twitter.com/aRnylmPe8y

— Nitzan Glusman (@nitzanglusman) January 29, 2017

She described how her son-in-law waited until his father-in-law left the house and then carried out the murders.

Neighbors and community members said they had no prior warning of the murder.

A neighbor who lived next door to the family for almost two years said “she was such a good soul. I would see him every day on his bike bringing her things from the store,” she said. “I could never have guessed that he could do something like this.”

Earlier in the afternoon Ataya was laid to rest in the same cemetery.

“Nahman was my righteous child who merited to finish [learning] the book of ‘Psalms,’” his mother Orah said earlier in the day. “He started [learning] ‘Song of Songs,’ with me but didn’t finish. He will have to do that in heaven with the angels. He was a good boy who will remain righteous forever. He didn’t sin and he will never sin,” she said.

The family of the alleged murderer gave a statement which said, “We are shocked and pained by the immense tragedy that happened. We lost our daughter-in-law, grandsons, and the neighbor’s boy, who are more dear to us than anything. We have no way of atoning for this heinous act. We all share the heartbreak with everyone. We ask forgiveness.”

The family of the husband decided against attending the funerals.

Three months ago, the father was involved in a car accident. According to news reports he went around after the accident saying “It’s a pity I wasn’t killed.”

Police say an investigation is ongoing and have reportedly yet to determine a motive for the shocking killing spree. The man, arrested in a nearby forest on Saturday, confessed to the killings, police said.

His name is being kept under gag order.

In Nazareth Magistrate’s Court the father asked that “God forgive me,” as a judge extended his remand by 10 days. He was also sent for a psychological examination.

Tamar Pileggi contributed to this report.