Remand for two toddler-death suspects extended again

Three-year-old Tali Darikova died on Monday after being forgotten in a van used to transport toddlers to and from a preschool in Netanya.

By JOANNA PARASZCZUK
The Petah Tikva Magistrate’s Court on Thursday ruled to extend again the jailing of Ivan Olos and Olga Zvirov, the two people suspected of causing the death of a Netanya toddler.
Three-year-old Tali Darikova died on Monday after being forgotten in a van used to transport toddlers to and from a preschool in Netanya.
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Darikova was one of several preschool children collected on Monday morning by Olos, the husband of the preschool teacher where the toddlers were taken; Zvirov is a preschool assistant.
However, the toddler somehow remained in the van when the other children were dropped off at their kindergarten in Netanya.
It was only after Olos returned to the kindergarten at around 2 p.m. to collect the children that he discovered Darikova unconscious in the van. The toddler had been trapped in the van in searing temperatures for around six hours. Paramedics were called but declared the child dead at the scene.
The court had previously ruled to extend the pair’s arrest on Tuesday, pending the results of a police investigation into the case.
However, Judge Hana Schnitzer Zaga ruled on Thursday to remand Zvirov and Olos for an additional four days, to allow police to continue their investigation, in which new information has apparently come to light.
That new information was submitted to the court in a confidential investigation report.
The police had asked for the pair to be remanded for several more days because they claimed they might obstruct the ongoing investigation if they were released.
Zvirov’s defense lawyer, attorney Nimrod Lipsker, strongly opposed the extended remand of his client, and argued that Zvirov had only accompanied the van and had not been responsible for disembarking the children after arriving at the kindergarten.
Lipsker said that the fact that the kindergarten teacher in charge of all the kindergarten’s operations, including transporting the children there, was not remanded in custody, was evidence of discrimination against Zvirov.
Olos’s attorney also argued that his client should be released to house arrest.
However, the judge ruled that in the light of new information that has come to light during the investigation, the pair should remain in custody for an additional four days.
“It turns out that over and above the initial reports taken from the suspects, additional material has been gathered connecting the two suspects to the offense and which necessitates a deeper investigation,” Judge Schnitzer Zaga said.
The two are remanded until a further hearing on August 15.
Yaakov Lappin contributed to this report.