Police hunt man suspected of murdering his friend in Holon

The victim, aged 57, was found Saturday morning in the suspect’s apartment. Suspect Alfonso Azarya, 63, has been missing for the past 24 hours and not answering phone calls.

By BEN HARTMAN
Israel Police patrol car [File] (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Israel Police patrol car [File]
(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Police are searching for a man suspected of murdering a friend at his apartment in Holon, before disappearing on Friday.
The victim, aged 57, was found Saturday morning in the suspect’s apartment. Suspect Alfonso Azarya, 63, has been missing for the past 24 hours and not answering phone calls.
After tracking his cellphone, police made their way to Azarya’s apartment on Har Hatzofim Street, where they kicked down the door and found the victim stabbed to death.
Azarya was last seen on Friday on the shoulder of the Ayalon Freeway next to the Halacha Bridge, police said.
The search for Azarya is focusing on Ramat Gan and north Tel Aviv, and police have asked for members of the public to step forward if they have any information about his whereabouts.
The Tel Aviv police set up a special task force to help locate Azarya, and secured a gag order on Saturday limiting what can be reported about the case.
In late May, a Rishon Lezion man shot and killed his ex-girlfriend and her new companion and remained a fugitive for a week before he was shot dead by police in Lod.
In that case, police secured a gag order on the name and photo of the suspect, neither of which was published the entire time he was on the run. In answer to criticism of their handling of the case, police said the killer, Yan Gavrielov, had not posed a threat to the general public.