Woman stabbed to death in Beersheba apartment, husband arrested after reportedly confessing
Couple's 5-year-old son said to be at home when Nania Melda, in her 40s, was killed; husband said to have called police and told them 'I murdered my wife'
A woman was stabbed to death in the southern city of Beersheba overnight Saturday, with her husband arrested as the suspect, Israel Police said.
She was identified in Hebrew media as 40-year-old Nania Melda.
The Magen David Adom emergency service said it received a report at 1:42 a.m. of a woman who had been injured in the southern city. Medics and paramedics were dispatched to her apartment, where they found her in critical condition with stab wounds.
Melda was taken to Soroka Medical Center in the city, where she was pronounced dead.
According to Hebrew media reports, Melda’s husband, in his forties, phoned the police and reported the stabbing by saying, “I have murdered my wife.”
In a statement on Sunday, police said the husband was arrested at the scene on Bnei Or Street, and officers opened an investigation into the incident, which is believed to be a case of domestic violence.
The couple has three children, aged 20, 16, and five, the Ynet outlet reported. The youngest was reportedly at home when his mother was stabbed multiple times, and tried to get help from a neighbor.
“The boy tried to call me at night. I woke up at 6 a.m. and saw a missed call from him,” the neighbor told Ynet.
The neighbor, who was not named in the report, said the couple had recently reconciled after a separation because their son wanted them to stay together.
There were no previous reports of violence in the family, reports said.
“A morning in which the harsh reality that many families in Israel live in is again in the headlines following the terrible murder overnight,” the head of the No2Violence lobby group, Vardit Danziger, posted to Facebook.
The campaign to prevent violence against women “must occupy decision makers and be given a place at the national level in a broad, properly funded, properly staffed national program that will provide a decent response to hundreds of thousands of women who have experienced and will experience violence against themselves in their families,” she said.
According to the Michal Sela Forum, at least 14 women have been killed by family members this year. The Michal Sela Forum was founded by Lili Ben Ami after her sister was brutally murdered by her partner on Rosh Hashanah in 2019.
According to the Michal Sela Forum, 14 women have been killed by family members this year. The forum was founded by Lili Ben Ami after her sister was brutally murdered by her partner on Rosh Hashanah in 2019. The Michal Sela Forum was founded by Lili Ben Ami after her sister was brutally murdered by her partner on Rosh Hashanah in 2019.