Man charged with aggravated murder in fatal Beit Shemesh pool stabbing of 7-year-old

State prosecutors charged Liel Ifergan, 26, on Monday with the aggravated murder of seven-year-old Hillel Mordechai Dadon and the attempted murder of Dadon’s four-year-old cousin in Beit Shemesh last month.

The indictment, filed in the Jerusalem District Court, alleges that Ifergan intentionally stabbed the two children as they played in an inflatable pool in the yard of a family home on August 17. Prosecutors also asked the court to keep him in custody until the criminal proceedings are completed.

According to the indictment, Dadon had been invited to his cousin’s home that afternoon, and the children were playing together in the pool. At about 4:38 p.m., Ifergan allegedly ran from the neighboring housing unit where he lived, carrying a knife, entered the yard, and approached the pool.

Prosecutors allege that he stabbed Dadon once in the chest and his cousin once in the neck, intending to kill them both. He then fled to his housing unit and cleaned the blood from the knife, the indictment says.

The chest wound damaged Dadon’s left lung and the sac surrounding his heart, causing injuries that led to his death, according to the indictment. His cousin suffered a neck wound and active bleeding, underwent surgery, was sedated and ventilated, and remained hospitalized for three days.

Aggravated murder, intentional killing of a child

Ifergan was charged with aggravated murder under a provision of Israeli law covering the intentional killing of a child under 14. He was also charged with attempted murder and aggravated grievous bodily harm.

The indictment alleges that Ifergan intended to kill the children but does not identify a motive, which matches earlier police advances in the investigation.

Dadon’s father, Amos, told reporters after the indictment was filed that the family hoped justice would be done quickly and that they would not be put through further turmoil.

“We are trying to be strong because we have other children,” he said.

The prosecution said it was difficult to comprehend “the gap between two children innocently playing in a pool and the defendant’s decision to arm himself with a knife.” It said the indictment reflected the exceptional severity of the alleged acts and their irreversible outcome.