Police in Eilat launched an investigation Saturday following a report of a suspected murder that occurred in the city in 1974, when a father allegedly killed his son. According to suspicions, Asher Goldstein drowned his 5-year-old son, Saar, in the Red Sea off Eilat.
Police said the elderly suspect, who is terminally ill, confessed to the act in order to ease his conscience. He told investigators that he killed his son because the child was sick and physically disabled, claiming he did it out of pity, "out of mercy."
Upon receiving the report, officers from the Eilat police precinct arrested Goldstein, a resident of the city. He is expected to be brought before the Eilat Magistrates' Court today, where police will request that his detention be extended.
Goldstein, who is gravely ill, was previously convicted of murdering his wife, Levana Goldstein, after staging her death to look like a car accident. In 1976, an indictment was filed against him. During the trial, he admitted to manslaughter but denied murder. Reports from that time stated that after killing her, he transported her body in his car outside the city, where he set the vehicle on fire.
In 1979, the Supreme Court rejected appeals by both Goldstein and his accomplice, Israel Omri, and upheld their life sentences. Goldstein was ultimately sentenced to 16 years in prison, of which he served 11.
