Murder of Nava Elimelech

The murder of Nava Elimelech is an unresolved 1982 murder of an 11-year-old girl in Bat Yam, Israel.[1]

The murder

The younger daughter of Makhlouf and Mazal Elimelech, she left her parents' house in Bat Yam on March 20, 1982, to visit a friend's home, which was about 300 meters away. She left behind a note to her parents, which had the following message: "To Mom and Dad and the whole family: I'm going to Tali. Don't worry, I'll be back home. I love you very much." Her 19-year-old sister was the last person to see her alive.

After it was discovered that she hadn't arrived at her friend's house, the searches for Nava began. First by her family, and by night, with participation of the local police department. On the tenth day of the search, people who were working out at the beach in Herzliya found Nava Elimelech's head, packed in a plastic bag.[2] Other parts of her body, also in bags, were discovered near the Tel Baruch beach in northern Tel Aviv. The pathologist who examined the body parts determined that Elimelech had been killed on the day of her disappearance.[3] The killing shocked the nation of Israel, and Nava was later buried in the southern cemetery in Bat Yam.[4]

Inquiry

After the murder, the police formed a special investigative team (IDF), which numbered 40 investigators and detectives who operated for several months, which came to be defined as "the largest in the history of the Israeli police".[5] The investigation was described as "particularly complicated", because the investigators had no edge, as there were no weapons or evidence at the crime scene. The team called dozens of people for questioning at various levels, but were unable to solve the case.[6] As part of the investigation, parts of the body were sent to a London laboratory in an attempt to identify the murder weapon.[7] In June 1983, police said the homicide case was a dead end.[8]

Police cadaver dogs who had smelled the clothes Nava had worn led to the home of David Levy, a Bat Yam resident. In his home, authorities found pictures of Elimelech and her friends. A police search was conducted, but no evidence was found connecting him to the murder. Levy, who was discovered to be a photographer for girls for the Gordon School, was convicted of pedophilia and jailed.

In 1998, police arrested Amos and Yehuda Shelaf as suspects in the killing, but later released them due to lack of evidence. Yehuda later claimed that this event has plagued them, and demanded that their names be cleared.

Zippora Rimer, a parapsychologist who attempted to decipher the case. It was later revealed that her past successes were fraudulent.[9]

Former Israeli police commander and criminologist Avi Davidowicz has concluded that Elimelech was likely the victim of a serial killer. According to Davidowicz, 10 children who disappeared in the Tel Aviv area between 1974 and 1994, only two of whose bodies were ever found (including Elimelech), were likely murdered by a lone individual. Davidowicz claimed that police would have stood a better chance of solving the murder had these cases been linked at the time. However, he stated that the investigators of the time should not be judged too harshly, as they did not have the know-how police do today.[10]

Suspected nationalist attack

In January 1983, an Arab resident of Gaza was arrested on suspicion of committing the murder, but he was later released due to lack of evidence.[11] Shortly after, the Chief of the General Staff at the time, Rafael Eitan, claimed that the act was carried by a nationalist terrorist organization. Police officers, including police chief Arie Ivtsen, expressed reservations about those claims.[12][13]

On December 31, 2001, Yitzhak Gatnio, an officer who was on the original investigation team, was interviewed on Galatz. He revealed that concerning the remarks on the murder, the Shin Bet found evidence supporting that theory. An Arab jailed on criminal charges and cooperated with the Shin Bet gave the Officer Gatnio information about the murder. The man claimed a cellmate of his admitted to being the killer of Nava Elimelech. A terrorist colloborator, he had already been released from jail and fled to Jordan. Tests conducted by the investigators revealed that the man was in the neighborhood where Nava had disappeared on March 20, working at a grocery store. He wasn't investigated at the time, and as far as the informer knew, the man had died while in Jordan.

Renewal of the investigation

On August 4, 2019, it was reported that the police, with court approval, removed Elimelech's body from her grave for further investigation. Police investigators compiled a profile of the killer suggesting that he was still living, aged 70, had a criminal background, and was living in central Israel. A total of 100 detectives were assigned to the case.[14] A gag order was placed concerning the progress on the case.[15] On August 28, the police returned a pair of earrings to the family.


References
  1. Oded Shalom and Meir Thurgeman (August 8, 2019). "'I have such fear that he might have been in our hands and we missed it'" (in Hebrew). Yedioth Ahronoth.
  2. Reuven Shapiro (March 30, 1982). "'We've never had such a shocking crime'" (in Hebrew). Davar.
  3. Mazal Moalem (May 3, 1989). "Reminder: 4 children disappeared in the same area, Oren is the fifth" (in Hebrew). Maariv.
  4. Nava Elimelech's grave
  5. Reuven Shapiro (December 23, 1983). "A slim chance of finding the killers" (in Hebrew). Davar.
  6. Weir Ornstein (September 21, 1984). "Why superintendent Woolf retired" (in Hebrew). Maariv.
  7. Ilan Bachar (December 3, 1985). "Scotland Yard assisted police in investigation of Elimelech murder" (in Hebrew). Maariv.
  8. "Carthy: murder investigation of Nava Elimelech deadlocked" (in Hebrew). Davar. June 8, 1983.
  9. Reuven Shapiro (February 4, 1983). "Supernatural power of just a scam" (in Hebrew). Davar.
  10. "'As we speak, at least one serial killer is operating in Israel'". Haaretz.com. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  11. "Is a breakthrough achieved in deciphering the murder of Nava Elimelech" (in Hebrew). Davar. January 20, 1983.
  12. Reuven Shapiro (March 20, 1983). "Police disclose "repul"" (in Hebrew). Davar.
  13. "Ivtsen: There is no information on Nava Elimelech's murderers" (in Hebrew). March 25, 1983. p. 2.
  14. "Police: Nava Elimelech's killer still alive and living in Israel | The Times of Israel". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  15. Eli Senor (August 4, 2019). "A dramatic development in the investigation of a 1982 murder of a girl: Nava Elimelech's body was exhumed" (in Hebrew). Ynet.
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