J'lem man to be charged with killing father-in-law

Police say murder of Eli Sabagh in his Gilo flat result of messy divorce case; suspect denies allegations.

By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
police car 298.88 (photo credit: Channel 10)
police car 298.88
(photo credit: Channel 10)
A 53-year-old man will be charged Monday for murdering his father-in-law in the latter's Jerusalem home last month, police said Sunday. Giora Kurtzki was arrested last month for the August 17 murder of Eli Sabagh, 60, in the latter's flat in the Gilo neighborhood. A gag order which had been in place on the case was lifted on Sunday afternoon. According to police, Kurtzki, who is the ex-husband of Sabagh's daughter, killed his father-in-law in the context of a dispute related to the couple's divorce. Kurtzki, who was apprehended in his brother's Tel Aviv apartment the day after the murder, has denied the allegations. But police say that have clear-cut forensic evidence in the case, including traces of the victim's blood found on the suspect's clothes. "We knew that the only conflict within the family was between the suspect and his father-in-law," Jerusalem police investigator Yoram Segel said at a police briefing, noting that the murder suspect was previously charged with harassing the family. Kurtzki is suspected of repeatedly stabbing his father-in-law and then strangling him to death. He had gotten the keys to Sabagh's flat from his former wife's apartment, police said. He also allegedly stole NIS 750 and more than $100 before fleeing the scene, the police said. Sabagh's body was discovered by his wife when she returned home shortly after he was killed. He was pronounced dead on the scene by Magen David Adom medics. The stolen cash was found in the suspect's home and in his post office box, Segel said. Kurtzki will be charged with premeditated murder and robbery, police said. The killing was the second in the usually quiet residential neighborhood in the last four months. In May, a 21-year-old man was arrested for murdering his father in his Gilo home.