Police: Jerusalem woman who claimed to be brutally raped and beaten may have fabricated story

Found screaming and naked with English letters carved into her body in a forest in the capital, police say investigation shows woman may have inflicted injuries on herself.

By DANIEL K. EISENBUD
Police generic in english crime scene 370 (photo credit: REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)
Police generic in english crime scene 370
(photo credit: REUTERS/Navesh Chitrakar)
Police said Thursday that a 19-year-old woman who claimed to be brutally beaten and raped in a forest near the Northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Sanhedria Wednesday night may have inflicted the injuries upon herself.
According to Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, at approximately 9 p.m. the woman claimed to be accosted by a man in the wooded area, where he subsequently raped, beat her and carved English letters into her torso.
Rosenfeld said the victim was found naked in the woods after local Yeshiva students heard her screams for help.
Police units and ambulances arrived at the scene within minutes and the woman was rushed to an area hospital where she was placed in serious condition, he added.
Due to the seriousness of the attack, Rosenfeld said a special police task force was created to find the suspect.
However, after extensive questioning – and a forensics team was unable to find any DNA samples on the woman, or at the alleged crime scene – he said the investigation took a turn.
“Today, following questioning by our task force and its inability to find evidence, it appears she inflicted the injuries on herself,” said Rosenfeld.
Rosenfeld did not say if the woman would be charged with a crime.
“This story is quite unbelievable,” he added.