Rose's autopsy to be overseen by suspects in her death
Ramle court accepts petition filed by mother, grandfather suspected of killing 4-year-old girl demanding forensic expert oversee autopsy of corpse found in Yarkon River on their behalf. Identification process continues at forensic institute
Murder suspects granted representation at autopsy of victim. The Ramle Magistrates' Court on Thursday ruled in favor of accepting the petition filed by a proxy on behalf of Marie-Charlotte Renault and Ronny Ron, the mother
and grandfather suspected in the murder of 4-year-old Rose Pizem, to have a family representative present at her autopsy.
At the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, the identification process of the human remains uncovered in a suitcase in the Yarkon River is still underway. Police have said they have little doubt that the corpse is that of the missing girl.
Attorney Revital Swaid, who represents both Renault and Ron, said she was satisfied with the outcome of the hearing. Earlier Swaid insisted it was crucial for there to be an impartial expert to determine the cause of death.
Red suitcase recovered (Video: Orly Dayan)
Earlier in the afternoon police investigators informed the two suspects that the body had been recovered from the river. "See, I told you the truth," said an indifferent Ron, even though he recanted his confession two das ago and insisted he did not murder the girl in a fit of rage.
The mother, Marie, began weeping hysterically in the interrogation room. However police officials were "unimpressed" by her emotional display, calling it an act. "She does this all the time, we're not that impressed by it. It's not the first time she has done this, and we see it as an act."
Rose's paternal grandmother, Betty Sghaier said that she wants her granddaughter to be buried in France.
“I want her body back with us; she has nothing to do there (in Israel). I want them to do everything possible to have her buried in France,” she said.
Divers trawled riverbed bare-handed
The divers who recovered the red suitcase were part of a private team contracted by the police to assist in the search. Due to poor underwater visibility conditions, the divers had to conduct a literal hands-on search of the riverbed.
Police Commander Nisim Mor confirmed human remains had been found in the suitcase. "The suitcase also contains other items, which I'm not going to discuss right now. We believe that these are probably Rose's remains. If that turns out to be the case, we will all feel a great sense of relief (for finding her)," he said.
Rose went missing in May. Once police began investigating, they quickly came to the conclusion that her mother and grandfather had a hand in her disappearance.
Police Commissioner Dudi Cohen, who arrived at the recovery site shortly after the remains were found, offered the following: "The police investigation spanned several scenes, some of which remained covert.
"The end result is the recovery of the child's body. The creativity and original thinking presented by the investigators yielded these results. We must, however, exercise due caution and wait for the forensic results before making any final announcements."
Police chief Cohen said an indictment against Ron and Renault will be filed "as soon as possible".
