Driver who killed Lee Zeitouni admits to driving drunk
Three years after Israeli woman killed by hit-and-run in Tel Aviv, public testimony given in Paris trial of two French nationals who fled to France after running over Zeitouni with a jeep.
Three years after Lee Zeitouni, 25, was killed by a hit-and-run car accident in Tel Aviv, the driver of the car that claimed her life admitted Thursday that he had driven drunk.
Giving public testimony in a Paris court, the French national said he drank three vodkas and two whiskeys at a nightclub before getting behind the wheel.
Following that testimony, the trial was suspended until Wednesday after one of the defendants' lawyers was struck in the face in the court's toilets.
The driver, Eric Robic, 40, and another French national, Claude Isaa Khayat, 35 escaped to France after they ran over and killed Zeitouni in Tel Aviv in 2011.
"I was a coward," Robic told the court.
Robic is tried on charges of aggravated involuntary homicide and non-assistance to a person in need. He risks 10 years in prison and a 150,000 euros fine ($187,100).
Khayat is charged with non-assistance to a person in need. He could be sentenced to up to 5 years in prison and a 75,000 euros fine.
"(It's) three years too late," said Roy Peled, Zeitouni's boyfriend at the time of her death, who is scheduled to give his testimony on Thursday.
"We hope to end this saga once and for all and make sure that these two (individuals) will not be able to hurt any more souls," said Peled.
Zeitouni, from the Neve Ur Kibbutz in northern Israel, was run-over and killed on September 16, 2011 while on her way to work at a fitness center in Tel Aviv.
Two French nationals, Eric Robic and Claude Isaa Khayat, fatally hit Zeitouni with their jeep and continued driving. Robic and Khayat later pulled over the jeep they were driving to check its condition, continued to Robic's apartment, bought flight tickets and flew to France by way of Switzerland.
Shortly after Robic and Khayat arrived in France, they were identified as the suspects behind the hit-and-run. The two men admitted to the crime but demanded to be tried in France as they claimed there would be "hostility" against them in Israel.
Khayat originally took responsibility for driving the vehicle, however, he said later that Robic, who was the owner of the jeep, had driven the morning they ran over Zeitouni.
After Zeitouni's death, Israeli law enforcement officials and Zeitouni's family began examining ways to bring the two men back to Israel for a trial or put them on trial for the crime in France.
According to French law, suspects cannot be extradited to country's that do not belong to the European Union or to a country where the maximum sentence for the crime is more severe.
The maximum punishment for abandoning the scene of a crime in Israel is 14 years while in France it is only 10 years.
Robic and Khayat are currently in jail pending a separate French investigation into organized fraud and money-laundering.
Robic was convicted in April in another fraud case and has six other convictions on his record, including for driving under the influence.
Zeitouni's parents, who were in court, did not speak to reporters. Before the proceedings, their lawyer Gilles-William Goldnadel said Robic was not a reliable witness.
"His credibility when it comes to the sincerity of his excuses is very low," he said.
Zeitouni's friends and family, led by her boyfriend Peled, launched an international campaign in order to bring the two French men to justice.
As part of the "Justice for Lee" campaign, Zeitouni's supporters protested at each event in Israel in which there was a French representative – the President, ambassador, ministers, mayors and even artists.
In some incidences, protesters painted their hands red and chanted slogans demanding the extradition law be changed and the two men be brought to justice in Israel.
Zeitouni's supporters even attempted to participate in a dinner held by a Jewish umbrella organization for former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, however were stopped by the president of the organization.
Protests for the extradition of Robic and Khayat were also held at the Eiffel Tower in France.
The State of Israel did not hurry to act upon the issue and four months after Zeitouni's death, during a Knesset debate on the matter, it was revealed that the state had not even filed a request for extradition.
The investigation transcripts surrounding the incident were only translated and sent to France in November 2012, more than a year after Zeitouni's death.
In July 2012, Zeitouni's family filed an official complaint against Robic and Khayat with French police, which resulted in a judge being appointed to the case. Zeitouni's family hired a local lawyer, Gilles-William Goldnadel, who accompanied them in the proceedings.
In September 2013, Robic and Khayat were charged with aggravated manslaughter, obstruction of justice, fleeing from the scene of an accident, attempted bribery and more.
Robic, if found guilty of aggravated manslaughter, could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 150,000 euros. Khayat could be fined up to 75,000 euros and be sentenced for up to five years for not providing aid to a person in distress.
In March, Zeitouni's parents gave their testimony to the judge investigating the case and said that as far as they were concerned, their daughter was murdered and not just killed in an accident. The judge told Zeitouni's parents that he was close to closing the file.
The last stage of the trial will begin on Thursday afternoon and is scheduled to continue into the evening. It will take place in open court and with presence by French media. Zeitouni's former boyfriend Peled will give his testimony; he said he has been waiting three years for the opportunity to do so.
"Three years too late we can now look back, know that we did the right thing, and continue our lives," he told Ynet.
Robic and Khayat have also been charged in separate criminal cases in France. Robic was convicted of fraud in a case stemming from 2009 and received an 18-month prison sentence and 35,000 euro fine.
Additionally, the two men were recently arrested on suspicion they were involved in a fraud scheme that involved the selling of rented vehicles.
Reuters contributed to this report.
