After 16 years, police investigators have managed to solve the murder of a young woman from Haifa whose body was found in 2005 but remained unidentified due to being found in a state of advanced decomposition.
Police now say 19-year-old Nadaa Barud was murdered by her 22-year-old brother Hani, who objected to her lifestyle. Hani himself was killed in a brawl a few days after the murder. Her body was found in Carmel Coast Forest in the Haifa area.
Barud's body was finally identified last April following the arrest of one of her relatives in an unrelated case.
A DNA sample was taken from the detainee and added to the national database, which then matched it to Barud’s unidentified remains.
"Investigators from the [local] crime unit conducted a covert and complex investigation, including gathering evidence, accumulating information and comprehensive criminal identification work," the police said.
"As the investigation progressed, it became clear that the deceased had been murdered by use of severe violence and then buried in the [forest]. All the findings pointed to her being murdered by her brother... due to his objections to her lifestyle."
Both of Barud's parents were detained for several weeks in December on suspicion of being involved in their daughter's murder.
"We have said we were innocent all along,” said the parents, who claimed they were wrongfully detained for a month.
“The fact is that we have been released and we hope the case against us will be closed soon."