Police fail to respond to tip on suspect in girls' murder

Mother of two girls who were murdered by their father says police took three hours to respond to information she provided regarding suspect's whereabouts. In May it was revealed that mother was ignored by police day before tragedy

Ahiya Raved|Published: 06.11.13 , 00:16

Abir Dandis, mother of Asinad, 2, and Ramais, 4, the two Bedouin girls who were murdered by their father, said Monday that on Thursday, she told Arad police of the whereabouts of the girls' father, but police arrived there three hours later, and the suspect had already left.

According to Dandis, she received information from a reliable source that told her the girls' father was "fifteen minutes away from the Arad police station." Nonetheless, police took three hours to arrive at the scene.

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"Instead of him being behind bars, I'm the one who's trapped in a cage. Trapped, threatened, feeling like I'm the one who's done something wrong, while the killer is loose," Dandis said, adding, "He continues to threaten my family. This is the time to nab him, because soon enough he'll leave the country and then there won't be any chance of getting him to court."

Dandis's attorney, Mira Hayab, said she intended to file a civil suit against those in charge of what she described as the transgression that led to the girls' murder. "It saddens me to see that even now, the apathy and irresponsibility persist," Hayab said.

Police said in response, "Ever since the murder, we've been doing everything we can, while utilizing the best resources and means available to us, in order to arrest the suspect. Detaining him is at the top of the district's priorities."

The Arad police were accused of mishandling the case prior to Thursday's incident, as they did not respond to the mother's complaint one day before the murder, thereby failing to prevent the killing of Dandis's daughters.

The commander of the Arad police station and two other officials were dismissed from their posts following their failure to respond to Dandis's complaints against the girls' father.