Israeli police say 'major development' in murder investigation of Afula girl

Strong suspicion of nationalistic motives in the murder of Shelly Dadon, 20, from Afula.

By BEN HARTMAN
Shelly Dadon (photo credit: Courtesy)
Shelly Dadon
(photo credit: Courtesy)
There has been a “dramatic break” in the investigation of the murder of Shelly Dadon, the 20-year-old Afula woman found murdered last Thursday in Migdal Ha'emek, Public Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich said Monday in a visit to the Dadon family's home in Afula.
“I can say that as of this moment there is a very big break in the investigation,” Aharonovich said, adding that the break is “dramatic” and that “I hope the day is not far off that these murderers will be arrested and brought to justice.”
He added that there is a gag order on the case and he can give no further details about the identity of the killers or their motives.
Since Thursday police said that there is a strong possibility Dadon's murder was “nationally-motivated” but they have not ruled out that the killing was criminal.
Dadon was on her way to a job interview when she was stabbed to death Thursday. Her body was found in a parking lot in the Migdal Ha'emek industrial district, where her father identified her for police Thursday night.
Northern District Police Commander Moshe Cohen said that evidence found at the scene led investigators to focus on nationalistic motives, Channel 10 reported.
"This is a very complex murder and we certainly are not ruling out other possibilities as well," Cohen was quoted as saying. "We will do everything possible to get to the perpetrator or perpetrators as soon as possible and to bring them to justice."
Her body was found in a Migdal Ha’emek parking lot on Thursday night by police during a routine patrol of the Ramat Gabriel industrial area in the northern town.
Dadon had stab wounds to the upper body, and Magen David Adom paramedics pronounced her dead on the scene.
Police said they were exploring the circumstances of the apparent murder, and that there was a strong possibility that she was slain by terrorists, but they were not ruling out other motives.
Dozens of police officers launched a widespread search of the area for the killers. The Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) was involved in the investigation.
According to police sources, Dadon, from Afula, had traveled to Migdal Ha’emek for a work interview.
One of her family members who came to identify her body at the scene cried out, “Why God, why? She was an only child! I can’t live without her!”
The police sources noted that Dadon was found near the spot where the body of taxi driver Yafim Weinstein from Upper Nazareth was found on November 30, 2009.
Seven Israeli Arabs, all residents of Nazareth and affiliated with al-Qaida and global jihad, were later arrested in a joint police-Shin Bet operation for murdering Weinstein and carrying out a series of other terrorist attacks.
Dadon will be laid to rest on Saturday night at Afula Cemetery at 10:30 p.m.