Tel Aviv musician convicted of murdering wife with hammer

Musician Ilan Ben Ami was convicted on Tuesday of beating his wife to death with a hammer in August 2014.

The Tel Aviv District Court ruled that Ben Ami deliberately murdered his partner, musician and restaurateur Dafna Bar Zion, at their south Tel Aviv apartment in a premeditated act. The court ruling also charged Ben Ami with making threats and obstruction of justice.

The three judges, who unanimously convicted the guitarist, described him as “obsessive” and jealous, saying his behavior toward Bar Zion before her death included “threats, breaking objects, insults, and humiliation.”

On the day of the murder, the couple had fought as Bar Zion attempted to end their relationship, the court decision said.

Ben Ami then took a one-kilogram hammer “approached the deceased, who was facing the doorway, and hit her twice forcefully until she fell,” the legal documents said. “With the deceased on the ground, the defendant covered her head with a garment and continued to pound her head with the hammer many times.”

The judges also ruled out psychosis, saying Ben Ami was in control of his actions at the time of the murder.

A sentencing hearing was set for March 6.

Ben Ami had fled the scene of the killing, setting off a three-day manhunt.

Tel Aviv policemen who caught Ben Ami said he told them, “I know why you came.”

Police found the murder weapon, a hammer, in a closet in the apartment. They also found Ben Ami’s notebook, in which he detailed his drinking problems, the sedatives he was taking, and his trip to a soothsayer.

The two married in 2012, and had separated earlier in 2014.

Ben Ami was the guitarist for the Habreira Hativit (Natural Selection) band.