An Israeli citizen was robbed and murdered in Las Vegas, authorities and community sources confirmed on Monday.
The victim’s body was discovered about a 15-minute drive from the Las Vegas Strip, the city’s famous hotel and casino corridor. Local police say the incident is still under investigation, with no suspects yet arrested and the motive still unknown.
A Chabad emissary in Las Vegas said the Israeli man had come to the city for a vacation at the hotels. He thanked those who assisted in ensuring no autopsy would be performed and that the victim’s body could be returned to Israel within 24 hours.
No additional details about the circumstances of the killing or the victim’s identity have been released. The Israeli Foreign Ministry said it was not yet aware of the incident.
At the end of April, two Israeli citizens were murdered in Los Angeles within a 24-hour span, sparking concern in the local Israeli community. In the first incident, 47-year-old Israeli-American businessman Alexander Modvadze was killed during a violent break-in at his home in the Woodland Hills neighborhood. The Los Angeles Police Department believes the attack was premeditated.
According to LAPD statements, three Georgian nationals—Pata Kuchiyashvili, 38; Zaza Otarashvili, 46; and Besiki Khutsishvili, 52—broke into Modvadze’s home, held him captive for hours, beat him severely, and caused fatal head injuries. The suspects then fled with a large amount of stolen property. They were arrested within hours with help from the FBI.
The second victim was Israeli businessman Manny Hidra, brother of Deputy Commissioner Moshe Hidra, director of the Nitzan Detention Center in Israel. Manny Hidra was found dead in his apartment in the Valley Village neighborhood. Following a manhunt that lasted nearly two weeks, police arrested 27-year-old Eric Escamilla, a Hispanic man with a criminal record who had been released from custody just two months earlier.
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Hidra’s murder drew public criticism over the police response. His body was discovered in his fifth-floor apartment in a luxury complex three days after the killing. Escamilla was reportedly caught on surveillance cameras attempting to break into apartments in the building. Authorities suspect he first entered a neighboring unit, then jumped from its balcony to Hidra’s before attacking him.
Police emphasized that the two killings are not connected. Still, the back-to-back murders of Israeli nationals have left many in the local Israeli community shaken.
First published: 09:42, 08.04.25