3 Karp killers convicted of manslaughter, not murder

Three Jaljulya residents beat Arik Karp, attacked his wife, daughter without provocation at a TA beach in summer of 2009.

By RON FRIEDMAN, JPOST.COM STAFF
Karp 311 (photo credit: Courtesy)
Karp 311
(photo credit: Courtesy)
The Tel Aviv District Court on Wednesday acquitted two men, and one minor, of the murder of Arik Karp at a Tel Aviv beach in the summer of 2009 – convicting them instead of the lesser offense of manslaughter.
The judges ruled that the three, Jamil Ades, 25, Abed El-Rahman Ades, 21, and a 17-year-old who as a minor cannot be named – all residents of Jaljulya – killed Karp by beating him to death, and leaving him to die in the sea.
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The court determined that the men, who were under the influence of alcohol at the time, attacked Karp, his wife and daughter, without provocation, while they were at the beach – later chasing Karp down the sea shore and into the water, all the time beating and kicking him brutally.
In their defense, the men confirmed that they had been on the scene, and two of them even confessed to beating Karp, but denied that they caused his death.
The defense also challenged the police investigation, citing improper handling of evidence and other procedural issues, in an effort to have the charges dropped.
The judges determined that the prosecution was incapable of proving that the attack had been premeditated – as required in a murder conviction – and chose to convict them of manslaughter instead.
“To our understanding, the accused arrival on the scene and their use of kicks and punches is insufficient to prove that the act was premeditated,” wrote the judge in the ruling. “Even had we determined that the accused possessed the mental element to prove a murder offense, we would still have had difficulty in determining an ‘intent to kill,’ as required by law.”
Karp’s wife, Sara, expressed outrage at the decision.
“I saw them brutally killing my husband before my very eyes. If that isn’t murder, I’d like the judges to tell me what is,” Karp said to Army Radio.
In March, former IDF soldier Or Levy, and three residents of Jaljulya, were convicted of failing to prevent Karp’s murder. They were found guilty of passively looking on as Karp was beaten repeatedly and failing to call for help or police.
The charge of manslaughter comes with a maximum of 20 years of prison, as opposed to murder, which carries a life sentence.