A 50-year-old woman was found dead in an apartment in Rehovot Friday night in what Israeli police suspect is a murder, according to a police spokesperson. Police arrested the woman's 21-year-old son, who was found at the scene, and opened an investigation.
The police noted that the woman was found with stab wounds on her body. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.The initial investigation indicates that the woman was attacked by her son with a box cutter after an argument broke out between them, Ynet news reported.
Police were called to the scene by neighbors who heard shouting, according to Kan News.The neighbor one floor down, who had not heard the screams, went on to say that the son told the woman from across the hall, who had called emergency services, not to call because he and his sister had pulled a prank and played audio of a woman screaming on her phone.The neighbor called the police back to tell them it was a prank, and they did not need to come, but they told her they were already en route, according to Ynet News.A woman who lives in the building said that they had not seen the woman's son in the building in years, Ynet reported."We don't know exactly what happened and are investigating," said Rehovot police station commander Chief-Sup. Dudi Meron, according to N12.There were no prior complaints or police records that would indicate that an incident like this might happen, according to Meron. The son has no record of treatment for mental health issues that the police are aware of, but he said that they will be checking this in the coming days, according to N12.Hagit Peer, chairwoman of the women's organization Na'amat, responded to the news of the suspected murder saying that "tonight, instead of lighting a Hanukkah candle, we will light a memorial candle for another woman who, according to suspicions, fell victim to the terror of domestic violence.""Despite many promises, the plan to combat domestic violence has not been implemented and has [instead] been passed on since 2017. Many women in Israel do not have the time to keep waiting; every day that passes is life threatening for them."Peer went on to call on the public to get involved when they suspect violence, saying that it may prevent similar incidents in the future.