Police officer suspended for lying about Beersheba murder case

Israel Police on Wednesday suspended the police officer who claimed to have investigated a disturbance call on Friday night in Beersheba — two hours before Gadi Vichman was murdered at the scene — after an investigation found that she lied.

Vichman had complained to police about a group of teens loitering in the ground floor garden and making noise that kept neighbors awake. Two hours later, he went downstairs to confront the youths and was stabbed to death.

The officer and a city inspector claimed that they had arrived at the scene earlier and found nothing suspicious.

Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino said the police were not satisfied with the suspension, and that police conduct surrounding the Vichman murder is being investigated. He stressed that lack of credibility is a very serious issue that must be treated with every means available to the police.

Murder suspect Eden Ohayon, 18, was brought to the scene and reenacted the events leading up to Vichman’s stabbing earlier this week. Ohayon initially denied any involvement in the murder, but changed his story on Tuesday.

Vichman’s widow, Michal, claimed that public outcry over the murder forced the police to open investigations into the officer’s conduct. She added that she had lost her loved one because the officer decided to lie rather than do her job.