Barak Ben Ami was named as the father from Hod Hasharon suspected of murdering his 10-month-old infant daughter, Maariv reported on Sunday. Ben Ami, 33-years-old, is further suspected of seriously injuring his three-year-old daughter and 36-year-old wife in the family’s home.The attacks took place on Saturday night and Ben Ami is believed to have attempted to commit suicide after the attack. He was released from the hospital and immediately taken to the police station. When entering court on Sunday he kept his face covered and refused to answer the media's questions. Both his parents as well as an aunt were present in the courtroom and called the events a "tragedy which befall them out of the blue." While his attorney, Ran Alon, claimed the family did not suffer any recent trauma and relations were decent police reported that, based on the investigation they carried so far, they are aware of a motive. However as they were unable to speak with the wife yet they refrain from releasing it at the moment. Judge Daniel Eliana suggested he be sent to a psychiatric evaluation while in custody and extended the time he may be kept under arrest to 10 days.
Sources say the father did not stop weeping during his interrogation, and at one point told police that he had indeed taken a knife, and in a moment that he could not explain, attacked his family.
“I don’t know what happened to me,” he told the investigators, "I killed them all, it was a spontaneous act." On the Israeli web, some users responded with shocking misogyny. Suggesting that the so-called reason for the crimes is that the wife had been unfaithful and the children were not his. These wild allegations include users who said “the wife must have driven him crazy” and “death to unfaithful women,” Mako reported.
Initial investigations indicated that the father stabbed his daughters and wife, and then himself, within the family home. The wife appears to have attempted to escape with her daughter and shouted to neighbors from the yard, who then contacted the emergency services.
United Hatzalah volunteer EMTs Oren Levy and Roey Baharuzi, who were among the first responders at the scene, said: “When we arrived at the scene we provided treatment to a year-old infant who was critically injured, to a young girl and a woman who were both seriously injured and to a man who was lightly injured.
“Following the initial treatment that they received at the scene, the injured were transported to Beilinson Hospital in Petah Tikva and Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba.”
EMT Ido Schiff, who was also part of the response team, said: “We arrived at the scene with large forces along with the police. In the yard, the woman lay conscious and suffering from injuries to her body,” according to Maariv.
He added: “The MDA paramedic began life-saving treatment that included dressing and [stopping the] bleeding, and I continued into the apartment. A three-year-old girl was brought to me, I performed an initial examination and provided primary care that included stopping life-threatening bleeding.”
Due to the nature of the incident, United Hatzalah’s Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit were dispatched to the scene to treat victims, witnesses and first responders.
Blue and White leader Benny Gantz later responded on his Facebook page, writing: “A horrific murder happened this morning in Hod Hasharon, in which a baby girl who was less than a year old lost her life. I spoke with my colleague, Mayor Amir Kochavi, who at the scene and is helping the family and the authorities. At this point, with the details and circumstances still under review – I would just like to say to each and every one of you: If you see a person in distress, do not hesitate to contact the authorities and intervene. It saves lives.”