Prosecutors have asked for six life sentences in what they dubbed the "worst murder case in Israel's history."
By JOANNA PARASZCZUKDimitry Kirilik 311(photo credit: YAAKOV LAPPIN)
The Central District Court in Petah Tikva is expected to pass sentence on Tuesday morning on Damian Karlik, the man convicted of murdering six members of the Oshrenko family in their Rishon Lezion apartment.In November, 39-year-old Karlik was found guilty of the October 2009 murders of Ludmilla and Edward Oshrenko, both 56, their son Dmitry and his wife Tatiana, 32 and 28, and their children Revital, three, and Nataniel, three months old.RELATED:Prosecutors want 6 life sentences for Oshrenko massacreAccording to the indictment, the motive for the massacre had been Karlik's increased hatred of the Oshrenkos, after they fired him from a waitstaff job at their Rishon Lezion family-owned restaurant, the Premier, in 2008.
Earlier this month, the court heard sentencing arguments from both the prosecution and defense. State prosecutors requested that Karlik be sentenced to six life sentences, one for each murdered member of the Oshrenko family.State attorney Oded Keller, who dubbed the Oshrenko family massacre the 'worst murder case in Israel's history', told the court that this punishment would reflect the "sanctity of human life."Karlik denies murdering the Oshrenkos, although he admits being present at the time of the killings. In his defense, Karlik testified that another man, whose identity is unknown, murdered the family instead.Karlik's co-defendant, his wife Natalia, was charged alongside her husband in connection with the murders. She was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment last November after being convicted in a plea bargain of manslaughter, conspiracy to commit a crime and destroying evidence.
