Maayan Ben Horin's murderer gets life sentence
Youth who attempted to rape and then murdered young Galilee resident in January sent to life in prison, although he was a minor at the time he committed the crime
The youth was also convicted of sexually assaulting Ben Horin before killing her.
Ben-Horin's murder case, which took the country by storm, started at the beginning of the year when the young woman disappeared from her home in the community of Yuvalim.
Following two days of rigorous searches, her body was found near the communities of Yodfat and Kaukab in the Misgav region. In February this year, the police arrested a suspect in the murder. The suspect was also questioned by the Shin Bet, which ruled out any nationalistic motives in the case.
The police investigation into the affair revealed that the youth attempted to rape Ben Horin, and after she forcefully resisted the assault, murdered her by repeatedly slamming a rock to her head.
'No immunity to minors'
In their sentence, the judges stated that, "The barbaric act of the accused… is astonishing, particularly due to the inconceivable ease with which a shepherd from a law-abiding family, with no prior criminal offenses, had carried out this crime."
Referring to the fact that the accused was a minor at the time he committed the murder, the court ruled, "Let any minor know that for such horrid actions he will not have, and does not have, immunity from the maximum sentence."
The judges further stated that until today that youth has not taken responsibility for his crimes.
Attorney Shmuel Keinan, who represented the youth, told Ynet that "the sentence represents the tragedy of the Ben Horin family, which lost a daughter, and the tragedy of the teen, who stands the serve a very long prison term."
Keinan said he planned to study the sentence before deciding whether to appeal it, adding that in the past, courts have handed down significantly lighter sentences for minors who had been convicted of murder.
