Itai Ben-Dror convicted of murdering his 3 children

Prosecution recommends court give him three life sentences; defense attorneys request psychological evaluation.

By JOANNA PARASZCZUK
Bibi netanyahu (photo credit: JPost Staff)
Bibi netanyahu
(photo credit: JPost Staff)
The Central District Court in Petah Tikva on Sunday convicted Netanya resident Itai Ben- Dror of three counts of premeditated murder for the killing of his three children a year ago.
According to the charge sheet, Ben-Dror stabbed the children, aged five, eight and 10, in his Netanya apartment on July 24, 2010.
He then wrote several notes with instructions for rescue personnel in case his suicide attempt was successful. In one of the notes, Ben-Dror wrote that he and the children “will now finally be together in heaven. I will take you with me to the next world, where we will be together for eternity.”
Ben- Dror only lightly injured himself.
At the time of the murders, the three children were living with their mother, Lilach Shem- Tov, in Kfar Yona, 7 kilometers east of Netanya, and had come to visit their father.
Ben-Dror committed the murders on his wife’s birthday but in court denied that he had done so for revenge.
His defense attorney claimed that the knives and pills Ben- Dror had acquired before the murder were to help him commit suicide. He later decided to use the knives to murder his children.
Ben-Dror admitted to the court that he had committed the murders.
“I admit the facts that constitute the offenses of three premeditated murders attributed to me in the indictment,” he said.
The prosecutor, state attorney Ronit Poznansky, recommended that the court sentence Ben- Dror to three life sentences.
However, defense attorneys are seeking a lighter sentence and requested a psychological evaluation, saying that Ben- Dror suffers from a clinical psychological illness, including depression.
The court ruled that Ben-Dror will be sent for a psychiatric evaluation.