Soccer player arrested in connection with woman’s death

Police in Netanya arrested a foreign player for the city’s Maccabi Netanya soccer team Thursday, along with another man, on suspicion of involvement in the death of a 20-year-old woman at a beachfront hotel.

The body of the young woman was found Wednesday outside a hotel in Netanya where the two suspects had spent the night. According to hotel employees who arrived at the scene, the upper half of the woman’s body was exposed and severely bruised. No identification documents were found.

Both of the men arrested are Congolese. The name of the soccer player has not been cleared for publication. Ynet gave the name of the player’s friend as Aritzia Akalsongo.

The Petah Tikva Magistrate’s Court on Thursday approved the extension of Akalsongo’s arrest for eight days. The player was released to house arrest, Army Radio reported.

One of the men arrested told police that he had met the woman the day before.

Police investigators are currently awaiting autopsy results in order to determine the cause of death. According to a report on Israel’s Sport 5, the woman’s body showed signs of strangulation.

Following the arrest, Maccabi Netanya issued a statement expressing hope that the player was not involved in the incident and had only been summoned by police to give information regarding the woman’s death.