Illegal Palestinian alien convicted of murdering estranged wife
Tel Aviv District Court finds Iad Shami guilty of murder, abduction, aggravated assault and conspiracy to commit a crime. Prosecution asks for 50-year sentence
The Tel Aviv District Court on Wednesday convicted Iad Shami, an illegal Palestinian alien, of the murder of his estranged wife Valentina Dombiev. Shami was also found guilty of two counts of abduction, aggravated assault and conspiracy to commit a crime.
Dombiev and one of her friends were abducted by Shami in 2007, after the two had separated and in the midst of a custody battle over their son. The friend was able to get away and alert the police.
Dombiev's body was found two days later near an Ashdod gas station.
The trial, held over the past two years, saw the friend testify against Shami. The three-judge panel ruled her testimony credible, adding that the defendant's version of the events was peculiar and senseless.
The prosecution asked he be sentenced to a life sentence with an additional 20 years, coming to a 50 years imprisonment.
