The Jerusalem District Court sentenced Daniel Nahmani to life in prison plus 16 years on Monday for the murder of Noa Eyal, a teenage Jerusalemite murdered in 1998.
Attorney Michal Rubinstein, who represented Nahmani on behalf of the Public Defender’s Office, responded after the verdict: “We will examine the court’s decision. It should be noted that Mr. Nahmani continues to claim that he is innocent.”
In January, Nahmani was convicted of murder and sodomy but was acquitted of rape – 21 years after the crime, and having been unidentified as the murderer during most of that period.
“This evil person, who took the life of Noa, has no right to walk freely,” Eyal’s family said in January in reaction to the verdict. “The court closed a circle today. Order was restored, as is fitting for a properly-functioning society. But we, Noa’s family, will have neither relief nor comfort.”
The 17-year-old’s body was discovered with signs of violence in February 1998. She was last seen waiting for a bus in Jerusalem’s Davidka Square on her way home to Ramot. Nahmani picked her up at the bus stop there, drove off the main road and into the Ramot Forest, and murdered her.
Though police worked diligently to solve the case, it was only in 2014 that a breakthrough was made. A preliminary search of a DNA database to locate relatives of the murderer revealed that Nahmani’s father had the highest statistical likelihood of being a relative. As a result, the prosecution, according to the State Attorney’s Office, carried out covert surveillance of Nahmani, and obtained a saliva sample. A DNA test showed Nahmani’s DNA matched that of the murderer, and the Jerusalem District Attorney’s office then filed an indictment.
Maariv contributed to this report.