Even Israel's veteran police officers weren't prepared for this case. A couple from Carmiel, a city in northern Israel, buried a 93-year-old Holocaust survivor — the woman's mother — in their backyard in order to keep collecting her monthly reparations, worth 18,000 shekels (about $5,500).
The case began about a month ago, when a woman from Bat Yam, a daughter of the deceased, reported to police that she had received information suggesting her mother had died. The deceased mother had lived with her in the past but moved out two years earlier following a family dispute, relocating to Carmiel to live with another daughter. The two had since lost contact.
The Bat Yam daughter said she tried to keep tabs on her mother from a distance, and upon learning of her possible death, began making inquiries. When she discovered that her mother was still officially listed as alive, she contacted the police.
Fearing for the woman's wellbeing, officers from the Carmiel Police Department were dispatched to the villa. When no one answered the door, they forced entry. Inside, they found the deceased mother's other daughter and her partner. The house, police sources said, was eerie — filled with cobwebs and windows sealed with duct tape. The two gave conflicting accounts of the deceased mother's whereabouts, arousing suspicion.
The couple was separated and questioned. The daughter, 64, stumbled over her answers, while her partner first claimed the woman had been buried in Haifa, then changed his story to say she had been buried near the northern border. He eventually said she died in April 2024 but refused to disclose the burial site.
Investigators suspected the woman had been buried in the villa's backyard. Initial excavations, assisted by sniffer dogs, turned up nothing. But they later discovered that the body had been kept in a home freezer for two days before being secretly buried.
About three weeks ago, the investigation took a grim turn when the man killed himself in his detention cell. Soon afterward, a breakthrough came when a contractor who had done work at the house pointed police to a spot in the garden where he believed a deep pit had been dug. A small excavator was brought in, and two weeks ago, at a depth of three meters (10 feet), officers uncovered the woman's body.
Investigators believe the elderly woman was not murdered, but are awaiting autopsy results from the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute to confirm the cause of death. Authorities suspect she was buried in secret so her daughter and the man could continue collecting roughly 18,000 shekels (about $4,600) a month from state and private reparation programs. The pair had also reportedly used the deceased's account to pay the villa's rent.
"This is one of the most harrowing cases I've encountered in 26 years on the force. A 93-year-old Holocaust survivor buried in her own backyard by her own family," said Chief Inspector Alon Reuveni. "It was our privilege to recover her remains and give her a proper Jewish burial."
The daughter is under investigation for fraud, obstruction of justice, failure to report a death and violating mandatory legal obligations. Police await the autopsy results to determine whether criminal charges for homicide are also warranted.
