Court extends remand of Itai Ben-Dror

Additional 10 days for father suspected of murdering his three preteen children in Netanya.

By BEN HARTMAN
Netanya Murder 311 (photo credit: Channel 10)
Netanya Murder 311
(photo credit: Channel 10)
The Ramle Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday extended by an additional 10 days the remand of a father suspected of murdering his three preteen children in Netanya a week and a half ago.
Police told the court that they expected to issue an indictment very soon.
Itai Ben-Dror, 38, was arrested on July 24 after rescue personnel responding to a call from his adoptive father found him lying in bed in his Netanya apartment next to the dead bodies of his three children – Omer, 10, Roni, eight, and Or, five. All three children had stab wounds across their entire bodies and had been covered with a blanket. Police believe Ben-Dror put the children to bed and then stabbed them in their sleep.
When questioned by reporters at the hearing, Ben-Dror said only, “My children, Or, Omer and Roni, forever.”
He was answered by relatives of the children’s mother, including her brother Albert Shem-Tov, who repeatedly told the accused, “Look me in the eyes, Itai, lift your head and look me in the eyes and say you’re sorry for what you did.”
Ben-Dror did not respond.
Ben-Dror’s attorney Ran Alon asked the court to lift the requirement that his client be kept chained to his bed 24 hours a day to prevent him from attempting suicide. The court refused the request.
The incident in July came only two months after Ben-Dror was discharged from a psychiatric hospital, where he had been hospitalized for several months for severe depression. He had also reportedly tried to kill himself at least six times in the past.