Tamar Shahak
צילום מתוך אתר התמונות של תמר שחק
Peru: 3 arrested in connected to murder of Israeli
66 days after shocking rape, murder of Israeli hiker Tamar Shahak in Arequipa, local media reports police have arrested three suspects in connection to case. Forensic evidence found in home of one suspect led investigators to his accomplices
Peruvian authorities have arrested three suspects in connection to the rape and murder of Israeli tourist Tamar Shahak in Arequipa, known as 'The White City' – local media reported on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old Shahak, a journalist, was found strangled to death in early May after having apparently been struck over the head with a blunt object and raped by more than one person, initial police reports determined.
Police are convinced, 66 days after the murder, that they have the perpetrators in their custody and that Shahak's death is linked to the murder of two other women in the area.
According to the police, Alvis Tito, Jose Vilka and Luis Paiya would stalk their targets by posing as taxi drivers. A forensic sweep of the car rented by Tito yielded hair and blood stains identified as belonging to Shahak. In a subsequent search of his home investigators also found Shahak's passport and a book in Hebrew she had been carrying.
A number of other men have been arrested in connection to the murder, including another taxi driver and a local gang member.
Peru's President, Alan Garcia, has demanded severe punishment for Shahak's assailants.
Garcia told reporters that he was moved by "the case of an Israeli journalist and soldier who was murdered because she dared to walk the streets of Arequipa alone."
