Police questioning father who left baby in car

By REBECCA ANNA STOIL
After the shivah memorial period for his eight-month old daughter Ofir concluded, Eren Balilti, the father who left baby Ofir in a closed car for over ninety minutes was questioned by police Monday under suspicion of criminal negligence in his daughter's death. Both Balilti and his wife arrived as previously planned at the Zebulun Police Station where Balilti was questioned and his wife offered voluntary testimony. Balilti's wife also testified to the phone conversation that she held with her husband immediately before and after the discovery of their daughter's lifeless body in her car seat. According to witnesses, Ofir was blue, and burned so badly that one leg was left without skin. All this, pathologists said, due to being left in the burning vehicle for an hour-and-a-half during a heat wave eleven days ago. Balilti left the baby in the car while he went in to a Kibbutz Sha'ar Ha'amakim garage where he sat with friends and had his ATV repaired. Balilti says that he forgot that the baby was in the vehicle, and was only reminded when his wife called and asked him how the baby was doing. By then, however, it was too late to save Ofir.