Man suspected of killing girlfriend has remand extended

Court extends Shirokich's remand for 4th time, arrested on suspicion of murder in Rishon Lezion sand dunes.

By JOANNA PARASZCZUK
arrest 311 R (photo credit: REUTERS/Eric Gaillard )
arrest 311 R
(photo credit: REUTERS/Eric Gaillard )
The Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court on Sunday extended for the fourth time the remand of Igor Shirokich, who was arrested at the beginning of the month on suspicion of killing his girlfriend, Marina Figorov.
Judge Michal Barak Nevo extended Shirokich’s detention for another week after police asked for more time to continue the investigation.
Police discovered Figorov’s body in sand dunes near Rishon Lezion three months ago. Full details of the alleged murder have not been released, but police suspect Shirokich, 36, of causing her death on August 5. A married man from Jaffa, he was allegedly involved in an extramarital affair with Figorov, and the pair might have argued, police suspect.
Shirokich has denied any involvement with Figorov’s death. He has told police he saw Figorov in her house with two unknown men on the afternoon of the killing, but went home when she asked him to leave. Shirokich claims to have spent the next day with his family before driving to the Superland amusement park in Rishon Lezion, where he believed Figorov would be.
In court on Sunday, Shirokich’s defense attorney, Yaakov Shklar, objected to the extended remand, and said police had failed to explain to his client why they thought he was involved.
However, Barak Nevo said that the “evidentiary basis [for Shirokich’s involvement] is growing” and that the police are “working diligently to examine each piece of information to see if it reinforces or weakens that suspicion.”