Court extends remand for suspects in toddler-death case

Three-year-old Tali Darikova died Monday after being left in locked kindergarten van for six hours in scorching Netanya sun.

By JOANNA PARASZCZUK
Magen David Adom ambulance 311 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Magen David Adom ambulance 311
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Netanya Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday extended the arrest of Ivan Olos and Olga Zvirov, the two people suspected of causing the death of a Netanya toddler.
Three-year-old Tali Darikova died Monday after being forgotten in a van used to transport toddlers to and from a preschool in Netanya.
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 child 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 threeyear- old had been trapped in the van in searing temperatures for around six hours.
Olos called Magen David Adom but paramedics were unable to resuscitate the Darikova, who was declared dead at the scene.
Olos and Zvirov were arrested and questioned extensively by police on Monday evening following the child’s death. The two are being held on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter while police continue to investigate the circumstances of Darikova’s death.
Attorney Rivka Hazan Cohen, representing Zvikova, told the court on Tuesday that it was her client’s ill-luck that she happened to be present in the van in which Darikova died.
According to Hazan Cohen, when the van arrived at the kindergarten, Zvikova was immediately ordered to go and care for the children because the regular kindergarten teacher was not there.
“She continued to care for the children – including small infants – and she had no connection at all with what happened, which was the responsibility of the driver,” said Hazan Cohen.
Zvikova’s attorneys asked that their client be released to house arrest.
Olos’s attorney, Benny Nahari, told the court that Oslo’s world fell apart after the tragedy and that he should be released to house arrest while the police investigation into the child’s death takes place.
Nahari also said that the kindergarten teacher, who was also arrested yesterday and questioned about Darikova’s death, was later released to house arrest.
“There’s an issue of discrimination here,” said Nahari. “Why arrest my client?” However, Judge Hana Schnitzer Zaga said that both suspects should remain in custody for several more days to allow the police to move forward with the investigation into the child’s death. A confidential report detailing the events leading up to Darikova’s death is being formulated by police.
According to the prosecution, at least five additional witnesses will be questioned in connection with Darikova’s death.
The judge ruled that Olos and Zvirov will remain in detention until the next hearing on August 11th.
Following the incident Monday, Magen David Adom head Eli Bin called on parents to ensure their children’s safety in the hot summer months.
“Every summer we see difficult cases like this. I implore parents to pay more attention to the presence and condition of children during the summer months, in order to prevent similar incidents in the future,” said Bin.
Yaakov Lappin and Jerusalem Post staff contributed to this report.