Man arrested after allegedly beheading ex-wife
A man was seen walking on the street carrying his ex-wife's head, which he proceeded to throw in the trash before setting her apartment on fire; police are currently questioning him on the suspicion of brutally murdering her.
The man then allegedly threw his ex-wife's head in a dumpster, then went back to her apartment and set it on fire.
The couple had no children.
The couple's neighbors claimed the man has a background of mental illness.
At approximately 12:00 p.m., police received a report of a suspicious man wandering around a residential area, covered in blood.
Police officers who rushed to the scene arrested the man, when they noticed a fire raging in a nearby apartment building.
After the Fire Department extinguished the flames, they discovered a woman's body, presumably the man's ex-wife.
Neighbors reported that after the divorce, the man had become homeless and used to sleep on a nearby park bench. "He would teach yeshiva students in the area. He also started learning kabbalah and had recently become somewhat strange," said one of the neighbors.
Another witness, a contractor who was working in an adjacent building, said "he approached me as if nothing happened. He asked me to call the Fire Department as his apartment was on fire. I handed him my phone but he said I should make the call. He was holding the head under his arm like a helmet, wrapped in a towel. At first, I didn't realize what it was, I thought it was a mannequin's head. It was only then that I realized he was covered in blood. I asked him about the blood and said I will call the police, and then he started backing away from me. He put the head behind the dumpster and tried to light it on fire. But he was shaking and couldn't light the match. He didn't say a thing. Even when the cops came, he still said nothing, just held out his hands and let them cuff him."
While social services are not familiar with the case, the city's Mental Health Services knew of the suspect's condition and apparent danger to others, according to Tiberias' mayor.
(Translated & edited by Lior Mor and N. Elias)
