Police on Friday identified 26-year-old Liel Ifergan as the suspect in the fatal stabbing of 7-year-old Hallel Mordechai Dadon in Beit Shemesh earlier this week, an attack that also left the boy’s 4-year-old cousin seriously wounded.
According to the police investigation, Ifergan lives near the apartment where Hallel and his cousin, Ray, were staying. Investigators say he went to the residence several hours before the attack, spoke with the homeowner and left. He later returned and allegedly stabbed the two children while they were playing in a swimming pool.
Ifergan was arrested immediately after the attack. A court extended his detention until Tuesday as investigators continue working to establish a motive.
“We arrived at an extremely difficult scene, where a young child was killed while playing in a pool,” said Superintendent Guy Avrahami, deputy head of the interrogation division in the Jerusalem District police’s central investigative unit.
“At this stage, we are focusing our investigative efforts on understanding exactly what the suspect’s motive was and what led him to harm the children,” Avrahami said. “The work of gathering evidence and putting the pieces of the puzzle together continues in an effort to uncover the truth and bring the suspect to justice to the fullest extent of the law.”
Police previously said they were examining all possible motives, including whether a dispute between the families may have played a role. Investigators were also examining the suspect’s mental state, and his father was questioned at the scene following the attack.
Children attacked while playing in pool
The killing occurred Monday afternoon while Hallel and Ray were at their grandmother’s home in Beit Shemesh, a city west of Jerusalem.
The two children were playing in a pool when Ifergan allegedly arrived and stabbed them. A 15-year-old relative who had been watching the children witnessed the attack, according to police.
Hallel Mordechai Dadon
Shlomi Alon, Hallel’s uncle and Ray’s father, arrived at the apartment and found both children wounded. He attempted to resuscitate Hallel in an effort to save his life.
The Magen David Adom emergency medical service received the call at 4:40 p.m. Monday. Paramedics found Hallel unconscious, without a pulse and not breathing, while his younger cousin was conscious despite suffering serious injuries.
Both boys were taken to Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center in Jerusalem, where Hallel was pronounced dead. Ray was hospitalized in serious condition, though his condition later stabilized.
MDA medic Yosef Haim Berenfeld, one of the first responders, described the scene as “horrifying.”
Dadon with a relative about an hour before the deadly attack
“We were led to two children who had suffered serious injuries, including one child who was unconscious, with no pulse and not breathing, and another who was conscious,” he said. “We provided them with lifesaving medical treatment, performed resuscitation and evacuated them to the hospital in critical and serious condition.”
‘Within minutes, life changed forever’
At Hallel’s funeral, Alon recalled being with his nephew shortly before the killing.
“Just a few minutes before the tragedy, we were still together,” he said. “We played, laughed and fooled around. You were happy. Who could imagine that within a few minutes, life would change forever?”
Other relatives mourned Hallel as a child who should have been preparing for another school year rather than being buried.
“He was a child who should have been walking with a new backpack on his back, excited to see his friends,” one relative told ynet. “He should have been dreaming children’s dreams. What did he see in his final moments?”
“What kind of evil in this world dares touch a pure child who never harmed anyone?” the relative said. “Our hearts are shattered into pieces.”
The killing shocked Beit Shemesh, which suffered another tragedy involving a child within about an hour of the stabbing when a child was killed in an unrelated traffic accident.
Mayor Shmuel Greenberg said municipal welfare and psychological services were assisting the affected families.
Police said the investigation into Ifergan is continuing, with investigators now focused on determining what led to the attack.