A 37-year-old man was arrested by police early Wednesday morning for the murder of his 31-year-old wife in Holon.
The man arrested was named as Alaza Mandparo. His arrest has been extended for 10 days by the Tel Aviv Magistrate Court. He confessed after being caught by police, explaining that he took action because he suspected that she cheated on him with his friend.
Police investigations show that during an argument in the presence of the couple's children, the woman, named Mastuel Elaza, attempted to flee through the stairwell, where she was stabbed repeatedly by her husband. Varying reports claim that either their 14-year-old son or the next door neighbors called for help, but Mandparo had already fled the scene.
“In the building, in the stairwell, we found a woman with signs of severe injury to her upper body,” one police officer told the press. “MDA declared her dead. According to eyewitness reports, this was an attack by her partner, who attacked her in violence. This is a tragic event.”
Police searched the region for Mandparo, releasing his name and photographs to the public, asking for help in finding him.
He was eventually found thanks to residents who recognized him from the photographs released by the police, who reported his appearance immediately.
Mandparo was released from prison in March after serving 10 months for domestic violence against Elaza, who used to live in a women’s shelter for victims of domestic abuse. She moved back to their home due to difficulties adapting to shelter life.
After Mandparo’s release and a short phone call with Elaza – and since there was no restraining order against him – he returned home to live with her and their children.
The previous report of abuse, which led to his jail sentence, was because of an attack by him in which he beat her repeatedly with his fists in their bedroom. He then held her against the wall, attempting to strangle her. She managed to escape to the living room, where he continued to attack her until she bled.
His sentence was shortened to 10 months because he did not have a criminal record.
“The murder of the woman last night in Holon is the tip of the iceberg of the wave of domestic violence which has washed over the country since the breakout of the coronavirus crisis,” said WIZO Israel chairwoman Ora Korazim on Wednesday afternoon.
“At this moment, hundreds of thousands of women and children live with ongoing abuse, aggression and fear, ‘kidnapped’ with a violent partner without a secure approach to aid,” she said. “Despite this, the entirety of welfare services was downsized... and families are abandoned to their fates.”
The same day that Mandparo murdered his wife, a 57-year-old man was indicted for the murder of his wife in mid-March. During an argument, he stabbed her and then proceeded to shoot her repeatedly. The names of both the defendant and victim are under gag order.
The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services reported on Wednesday afternoon that calls to the governmental welfare hotline regarding domestic violence have doubled. Throughout the week leading up to Independence Day, 178 complaints were made. In contrast, within the first two weeks of March there were 191 calls, when coronavirus restrictions had not yet been implemented.
In light of this steep rise in reports, the ministry will be opening a text message hotline for questions and complaints regarding domestic abuse at 055-700-0128.
One of the main worries of the ministry is that despite this rise, there are even more cases that have not yet been reported, according to Iris Florentine, the ministry’s Head of Social Services Administration.
The ministry believes that the lack of privacy due to coronavirus restrictions is preventing a large population of domestic abuse victims from reporting abuse or requesting advice. . The text message hotline was instituted as a solution.
WIZO and the ministry, in light of the rise of domestic abuse accompanying coronavirus restrictions, announced that they will be opening an additional emergency women’s shelter for abuse victims this coming Sunday.
The ministry will be initiating a televised campaign to encourage reporting to the hotline regarding domestic violence, in collaboration with the Inter-Ministry Governmental Committee on the Treatment of Domestic Violence.
Despite several branches of welfare services being listed as essential, which allows them to operate during the coronavirus outbreak, 60% of social workers in the field of domestic abuse are not working, reported Maariv, the sister publication of The Jerusalem Post, in March.
“The instructions of the Health Ministry and of the Prime Minister’s Office to stay home... are making relief organizations and women’s shelters face challenges they have not yet known,” Joint List MK Aida Touma-Suleiman wrote in a letter to Welfare Minister Ofir Akunis.
Women’s organizations throughout the country reported a steep rise in reports of domestic abuse last year. Thirteen women were murdered in acts of domestic violence in 2019.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.