37-year-old Akko resident allegedly murdered couple in their 40s after attempting to rob them near Tsfat.
By YAAKOV LAPPINcrime scene 248 88 generic(photo credit: Courtesy)
Police said a man who committed suicide on Tuesday in Acre was likely behind the homicides of newlyweds David Kazshechter and Sigal Kirshner, who were found dead late Sunday night in the Galilee ecological community of Kadita, near Safed. Both sustained gunshot wounds to the upper body.
The suspect has been named as Erez Ben-Ezra, 37, from Acre.
Galilee police said Ben-Ezra entered a taxi driven by Kazshechter in Tel Aviv, and the two men drove northward toward Safed. The taxi stopped in Hadera, where Kazshechter picked up his wife. They then continued to Kadita, where police say the murder took place.
A police spokesman said Ben-Ezra had gone into debt, and that he may have lost heavily while gambling.
Kazshechter's wallet was missing from the crime scene, and police quickly linked Ben-Ezra to the killings. Galilee police dispatched a number of officers to track the suspect down.
Early on Tuesday morning, the suspect's sister showed up at an Acre police station and reported her brother dead; Ben-Ezra had shot himself. Police retracted a request for an autopsy on Ben-Ezra after his family objected.
"We don't doubt that he was directly tied to the murder scene," a senior investigator said. "The findings from the scene tie him to the tragic incident."
Police said Ben-Ezra may have committed suicide because he knew officers were closing in on him.
He worked for a security company for several years, and held a licensed firearm. Police said he had failed to show up for work for 10 days.
A check of Ben-Ezra's passport revealed that he had visited Egypt repeatedly via the Taba border crossing.
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