Not murder-suicide. Not criminally motivated. Nearly a week after Olga and Ruslan Prikhodko of Rishon Lezion were found shot dead in a car in an open area of Israel’s Shfela region, ynet revealed that police believe the arrested suspect carried out a double murder motivated by nationalism. “We knew it from the very first moment,” the Prikhodko family said.
The suspect, a 17-year-old Arab-Israeli teenager, was arrested Wednesday night by elite police forces. A magistrate’s court in Rishon Lezion extended his detention by eight days. The investigation, led by the Central District Police’s central unit and the Shin Bet, was conducted under tight secrecy. The teenager, who allegedly encountered the couple by chance in the area between moshav Mishmar Ayalon and Karmei Yosef, confessed to the allegations against him.
The suspect’s brother was involved several years ago in a car-ramming attack in central Israel. Investigators believe they have strong evidence linking the teen to the murders, but are still trying to determine where he obtained the handgun and whether he had additional motives beyond nationalist ones.
Artyom, the partner of Olga’s older sister Ruth, told ynet after the arrest that police had informed the family of the developments.
“A huge weight was lifted when we heard a murder suspect had been caught. We knew it from the first moment. Now it’s important for the public to know this was not murder-suicide. Everyone knew who Ruslan and Olga were, it made no sense. From the beginning we knew Ruslan would never do such a thing. A child has been left orphaned without a father or mother.”
Central District investigators initially believed the case was a murder-suicide, but Shin Bet personnel were brought in within hours of the investigation’s launch. The case was handed to the Central District Police’s central unit, whose investigators initially concluded it was a criminally motivated killing.
However, the murder-suicide theory weakened when Ruslan’s personal handgun was not found at the scene. At that stage, investigators still believed the crime was criminally motivated and suspected that someone passing through the area had taken the weapon.
Later, investigators searched the couple’s home and found Ruslan’s licensed firearm in a safe. No gunshot residue was found on his hands, raising suspicion that someone else had murdered the couple and fled the scene.
Police immediately arrested five Arab suspects, but after questioning, it became clear they had no connection to the double murder and they were released. As the investigation progressed, the current suspect was arrested Thursday.
Ruslan and Olga, who are survived by their 14-year-old only child, were buried Thursday at a cemetery in Rishon Lezion. Around 200 relatives, friends and acquaintances attended the funeral. Olga, 44, worked at Mashbir department store chain. Ruslan, 46, worked as an elevator technician for Electra. The couple married in Ukraine and immigrated to Israel in 2000.
Earlier in the week, Ruth, Olga’s older sister, told ynet that from the family’s perspective, “they were murdered.” Artyom, who was called by police to the scene where Olga and Ruslan were found shot, said earlier in the week: “I’m certain of one thing — Olga and Ruslan were murdered. They were a loving couple and their only son was their whole world. The three of them had plane tickets to Austria and planned to celebrate Olga’s 45th birthday there on June 12. Ruslan loved his wife and son. They were always together and did everything together.”