South TA man murders wife after cop makes house call

Woman killed in basement apartment in Tel Aviv right after police did not detain man over domestic violence complaint.

By BEN HARTMAN
Handcuffs arrest police crime illustrative 390 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
Handcuffs arrest police crime illustrative 390
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/The Jerusalem Post)
A police officer visited the house of a Tel Aviv man to respond to a domestic violence complaint and left without detaining or interviewing the man – who is believed to have murdered his wife not long afterward, police said on Wednesday night.
The murder took place in a basement apartment on Vered Street, in the Hatikva neighborhood.
Around 11:20 p.m., the police dispatch got a call from one of the neighbors, who reported hearing a woman’s screams. According to Hashchunot subdistrict head Ch.-Supt. Alon Magen, an officer was sent to the apartment and found the door locked. He then went to one of the basement windows and saw a man inside who appeared to be acting normally, so he left.
Around 1 a.m., police got a call from the husband, 64- year-old Freddie Vinokorsky, who told them he had just murdered his wife.
A forensic scene investigation carried out on Thursday determined that the woman was already dead by the time of the first police visit, Tel Aviv District commander Asst.-Ch. Aharon Eksel said.
Magen David Adom paramedics who arrived found the woman, 67-year-old Yulia Vinokorsky, on the floor of her apartment with stab wounds to her upper body. The paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.
Magen said police knew the address not only from earlier in the night, but also from a domestic violence complaint three weeks earlier, during which police arrived and detained the husband for questioning.
They released him shortly thereafter.
The husband was brought for a remand extension hearing on Thursday at the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court, which extended his remand until next Wednesday.
At a briefing to reporters on Thursday, Eksel said officers had reviewed the conduct of the officer who had responded to the first call, to see if more could have been done to save Yulia Vinokorsky’s life. According to Eksel, the investigation determined that the officer had not conducted himself as he should have: The officer should have made sure to establish contact with Freddie Vinokorsky.