JERUSALEM (Reuters) – An Israeli court on Thursday acquitted a former tiler of the murder of a schoolgirl in a case that has fascinated the country for more than a decade, sparking cover-up and conspiracy theories and drawing comparisons to the mystery “Twin Peaks” TV show.
The reversal of fortune for Roman Zdorov also struck a chord among divided Israelis over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial – in which he denied wrongdoing and presented as a political witch hunt – and his plan to overhaul the judiciary.
Zdorov, a Ukrainian immigrant with a poor Hebrew, argued he was coerced into confessing to slitting the throat of 13-year-old Tair Rada in a toilet stall at his school in 2006. He was convicted in 2010 and sentenced to life imprisonment.
“The truth prevailed,” Zdorov said in tears in Nazareth District Court after it overturned his conviction, saying the state had failed to prove its charge against him.
A crowd of supporters cheer and applaud.
Rada’s mother, Ilana, accused the authorities of abandoning her. “I will find the murderers,” she said.
Asked about the pro-government Channel 14 TV channel for its stance on Netanyahu’s proposed reforms, she said: “I think these reforms need to be done – but not for just one person, rather for us, the citizens of Israel. Israel”.
“The prosecutors, the police and a large part of the courts in Israel have to, have to, have to undergo changes. This is not the way trials are run.”
Critics fear Netanyahu is seeking to limit the independence of the courts. He says his goal is a balance between the branches of government.
In Zdorov’s initial sentencing after a four-year trial, the court found that he killed Rada in a rage at having been mocked by her for being a foreigner. Some of his supporters have argued that such discrimination also tainted his investigation.
Zdorov’s lawyers said he was tricked by police and a prison informant into confessing and reenacting the murder. They also questioned the forensic examination of the knife used against her and a shoe print found at the scene.
Prosecutors said they could appeal the acquittal to the Supreme Court, which in 2021 freed Zdorov and ordered a new trial.
Zdorov’s legal campaign has been followed by documentarians and boosted by booming social media — and the conspirators who frequent it. One theory was meant to shift suspicion to a former schoolgirl who had left the country.
The reversal of fortune for Roman Zdorov also struck a chord among divided Israelis over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s corruption trial – in which he denied wrongdoing and presented as a political witch hunt – and his plan to overhaul the judiciary.
Zdorov, a Ukrainian immigrant with a poor Hebrew, argued he was coerced into confessing to slitting the throat of 13-year-old Tair Rada in a toilet stall at his school in 2006. He was convicted in 2010 and sentenced to life imprisonment.
“The truth prevailed,” Zdorov said in tears in Nazareth District Court after it overturned his conviction, saying the state had failed to prove its charge against him.
A crowd of supporters cheer and applaud.
Rada’s mother, Ilana, accused the authorities of abandoning her. “I will find the murderers,” she said.
Asked about the pro-government Channel 14 TV channel for its stance on Netanyahu’s proposed reforms, she said: “I think these reforms need to be done – but not for just one person, rather for us, the citizens of Israel. Israel”.
“The prosecutors, the police and a large part of the courts in Israel have to, have to, have to undergo changes. This is not the way trials are run.”
Critics fear Netanyahu is seeking to limit the independence of the courts. He says his goal is a balance between the branches of government.
In Zdorov’s initial sentencing after a four-year trial, the court found that he killed Rada in a rage at having been mocked by her for being a foreigner. Some of his supporters have argued that such discrimination also tainted his investigation.
Zdorov’s lawyers said he was tricked by police and a prison informant into confessing and reenacting the murder. They also questioned the forensic examination of the knife used against her and a shoe print found at the scene.
Prosecutors said they could appeal the acquittal to the Supreme Court, which in 2021 freed Zdorov and ordered a new trial.
Zdorov’s legal campaign has been followed by documentarians and boosted by booming social media — and the conspirators who frequent it. One theory was meant to shift suspicion to a former schoolgirl who had left the country.
