Rock band member Ilan Ben Ami indicted for murdering separated spouse

Indictment states that Ben Ami grabbed a large hammer, weighing a kilogram, and attacked the victim hammering her head until she had fallen and until she died.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB
Man in handcuffs - illustrative (photo credit: INGIMAGE / ASAP)
Man in handcuffs - illustrative
(photo credit: INGIMAGE / ASAP)
Ilan Ben-Ami, a musician with the rock band Natural Selection, was indicted on Sunday in the Tel Aviv District Court for the murder of his estranged wife Dafna Bar-Zion, a singer and restaurateur.
The indictment was filed by the Tel Aviv District Attorney’s Office and also includes charges for multiple death threats and obstruction of justice against the 47-yearold Tel Aviv resident.
The two married in 2012, but began to fight around six months later, and Ben-Ami verbally abused Bar-Zion and sent her threatening and insulting text messages, said the indictment.
Due to Ben-Ami’s threats and her concern he might try to kill her, noted the indictment, Bar-Zion filed a complaint with police and obtained a restraining order against him. The couple moved to live in separate residences.
On August 14, the indictment alleges, Bar-Zion arrived at Ben- Ami’s residence at his request, where he tried to convince her to return to him and resume their married life.
When Bar-Zion refused, the indictment says, Ben-Ami grabbed a heavy hammer and attacked her, beating her over the head until she fell and died. Next, he allegedly locked the door to the residence and threw away each of their cellphones in different spots to make it more difficult for law enforcement to track him.
The state requested that Ben- Ami be remanded to police custody until the end of the proceedings.