Man allegedly killed sister during prison furlough

Police arrest Umm al-Fahm man after sister found dead with gunshot wounds to her upper body; family dispute suspected to be cause of murder.

By BEN HARTMAN
arrest 311 R (photo credit: REUTERS/Eric Gaillard )
arrest 311 R
(photo credit: REUTERS/Eric Gaillard )
An Umm el-Fahm man on furlough from prison is suspected of murdering his sister at her apartment on Sunday, coastal subdistrict police said on Monday.
The man who is serving a sentence for firearms offenses, including his role in a shooting incident, was on a furlough over the weekend. By Sunday night he was back in his cell at Shata prison after being arrested in connection with the murder.
Muna Mahajna, 30, was found dead in her Umm el- Fahm apartment with gunshot wounds to her upper body earlier that day.
Police were quick to characterize the killing as linked to some sort of family dispute, though they were hesitant to call it an “honor killing.” This is a term for the murder by a male relative of a woman considered to have slighted her family’s values.
Since Mahajna had recently remarried, police are investigating the possibility that this event was somehow linked to her death.
Subdistrict police spokesman Eran Shaked said Sunday that the woman’s three-year-old son was found wandering the street outside the apartment when police arrived on the scene. However, they do not know if he was at home at the time of the shooting, or whether he witnessed his mother’s murder.
On Monday, the Haifa Magistrate’s Court extended the suspect’s remand by three days.