Severed bodies case: Paint traces give away murder suspect
Eli Fahima, suspected of murdering and dismembering Beatrice and Denise Rodov, allegedly paints walls to hide blood stains, pours disinfectant down drain, polishes floors- all in bid to cover his tracks. But he fails to notice someone filming him dragging trash bags out to garbage
The police suspect Eli Fahima, the main suspect in the double murder of Beatrice Rodov and her daughter Denise, went to great lengths not to get caught for his alleged acts. He allegedly painted the walls in his house, buffed the floors with special polish, and even poured disinfectant down the drain in order to cover his tracks.
However, these actions are reportedly what ultimately led to his arrest.
Fahima is being held as the main suspect in the murder of the mother-daughter pair after Beatrice was reported missing by co-workers and the pair’s dismembered bodies were found scattered throughout Ramat Gan and Alexander Stream National Park, outside of Netanya.
Fahima’s remand was extended Monday by 10 days by Ramla Magistrates’ Court Justice Leora Frankel after Attorney General Menachem Mazuz granted special authorization for the extension to Police International Crime Investigations unit investigators working on the case. Special authorization was necessary because 30 days have passed since the suspect was apprehended, at which time, under standard protocol, an indictment must be issued or the suspect released.
Most of the case’s details have remained classified. However, it has come out now that, despite Fahima’s vehement denial of any involvement in the case, the police have collected significant evidence implicating him in the murder of Rodov women. The police estimate that Fahima, who was in a long-term relationship with Beatrice, was allegedly driven to commit the heinous act over a financial dispute that broke out between the two.
'Police showing court what they want'
According to investigators on the case, the murder was committed in the residence of Beatrice and Denise, where their bodies were also dismembered. However, when police arrived at the crime scene, they were surprised to find that the apartment was a clean and tidy. Their suspicion piqued, they began searching for evidence that would indicate Fahima had tried covering his tracks.
The investigators found that the apartment had been freshly painted. For all his meticulousness, Fahima did not take note of the traces of paint he left behind in the apartment, leading the investigation team to the bloodstains beneath the fresh layer of paint.
In addition, the investigation found chemicals in the apartment’s drains. They suspect Fahima poured the chemicals down the pipes in order to cover up traces of the victims’ blood in the sewage system.
The investigators found supporting evidence that the apartment was scrubbed down by the murder suspect for many hours after samples of the cleaning supplies found in the apartment were sent to a forensics lab.
Additional evidence implicating Fahima in the double murder came in the form of a photograph the police received from one of the neighboring buildings. The picture is of Fahima carrying heavy trash bags out to the garbage. It is suspected that the body parts of Beatrice and Denise were in those bags.
During the hearing in Ramla Magistrates’ Court, Fahima’s legal counsel, Attorney Menahem Rubinstein, asserted that at the end of 30 days of police custody, the suspect must either be indicted or released.
“The police are showing the court what they want to show (them) and is deciding upon a series of actions that it wishes to take,” he said.
