Haifa cleaner arrested in slaying of former employer

24-year-old woman, who worked as a cleaner for the elderly woman, suspected of murder.

By YIGAL GRAYEFF
angel shalgi 298.88 (photo credit: Channel 10)
angel shalgi 298.88
(photo credit: Channel 10)
A 24-year-old cleaning woman has been arrested in Haifa for allegedly killing a former employer following a dispute over money, police said Monday. Haifa police chief Cdr. Nir Meriesh said Angel Shalgin was suspected of killing 84-year-old Nomi Rothstein in mid-January during a visit to the pensioner's apartment. "Shalgin arrived at Nomi Rothstein's flat after the Sabbath to talk with her. They spent about half the night together, until about 1 a.m. They drank coffee, watched television, and at some point an argument developed over the amount of money that Angel was to receive for working for her," said Meriesh. Shalgin, who had convictions for drug offenses, had worked for Rothstein on and off for about a year, although not recently. Rothstein said she would only pay the immigrant NIS 25 an hour instead of the NIS 35 that Shalgin requested. Angel told police that at some point she lost control and killed Rothstein. "She doesn't know what she did. She is under [psychiatric] observation today," said Meriesh. "She fled the building, but later returned to the apartment to arrange the evidence so it would look like a robbery had taken place. She took some things from the house and set it on fire," he said. Because the flat was completely sealed, the fire did not spread to other parts of the building and was only discovered a few hours later. "The newspaper delivery man arrived on Sunday morning, smelled smoke on the stairwell and called the fire service," said Meriesh, adding that it was then that Rothstein's body was discovered. Police checked on the people who had worked for Rothstein and, after examining the the flat, they concluded that Shalgin was the killer. She was arrested on Thursday, but there was a gag order on the case. The gage order was issued to allow police "to gather evidence and go after Shalgin. We also needed to check whether she had partners in the crime," said Meriesh. "However, she acted alone," he said. Shalgin's arrest comes just under a month after a former undercover police agent was named as the suspected killer of two old age pensioners in the Haifa suburb of Kiryat Ata in late January and early February.