A female Israel Prison Service officer and an inmate were arrested on suspicion of helping the inmate’s brother, a 17-year-old sought in connection with the murder of Benayahu Razi, evade law enforcement.
The 34-year-old officer, a resident of Hod Hasharon in central Israel, is suspected of maintaining a romantic relationship with the prisoner while serving at the detention facility where he is held. The inmate is serving a prison sentence after being convicted of running an illegal lending operation and extortion.
Police suspect that through his relationship with the officer and access to her mobile phone, the inmate helped his brother, Avior Sasson, remain in hiding and avoid arrest. The officer is suspected of obstructing an investigation and breach of trust.
Israel Prison Service intelligence officials received indications of the relationship and the suspected use of the officer’s phone. The information was transferred to police, who opened an investigation that led to the arrests.
Investigators have not yet determined the extent of the alleged assistance or whether the phone was used to provide Sasson with instructions, information or other means that helped him remain at large.
“The manhunt for the murder suspect continues around the clock, and investigators are working day and night to obtain every piece of information that could reveal his location and lead to his arrest,” said Chief Inspector Rotem Hila Zaken, head of the investigations bureau in the Jerusalem Police’s Zion district.
“We said at the outset of the investigation that we would reach anyone involved in the incident and anyone helping obstruct the investigation or assisting the suspect’s escape, with the aim of uncovering the truth and bringing all those involved to justice,” she added.
Israel Prison Service spokesman Deputy Commissioner Zivan Freidin said the agency’s intelligence division had once again demonstrated its ability to uncover criminal activity operating from within detention facilities.
“The organization condemns any suspected breach of integrity and has zero tolerance for any misconduct,” he said, adding that the Prison Service was strengthening its oversight mechanisms, including efforts to introduce polygraph examinations within the agency.
Murder in a Jerusalem apartment
Razi, 19, was killed on July 11 in a short-term rental apartment in Jerusalem’s Nahlaot neighborhood, a historic residential district near the city center.
According to police suspicions, Razi and a friend were invited to the apartment after a meeting was arranged with two young women, Razi’s former partner Agam Tzarfi and her friend Shilat Huta.
Agam Tzarfi
Additional suspects later arrived and allegedly attacked Razi with several weapons, killing him. His friend, who said he tried to help him, suffered minor injuries and escaped.
Police suspect that Tzarfi, Huta and Mazal Linor Sasson, Avior’s mother, played different roles in planning the incident, connecting those involved and bringing the attackers to the apartment.
The attackers were allegedly armed with knives, clubs and a meat tenderizing hammer. Police also suspect that the assault was broadcast live to some of the female suspects. All those involved deny the allegations against them.
One detainee told investigators that before entering the apartment, the group held what he described as a reconciliation meeting, including handshakes and an apparent effort to settle the dispute.
Police are examining whether the meeting was instead part of a trap intended to convince Razi that the conflict had ended before he entered the apartment where he was attacked.
Sasson, a 17-year-old Jerusalem resident, is considered one of the central suspects in the killing. Police said he was seen fleeing the scene while wearing a white shirt and black trousers and has not been located since.
Mazal Linor Sasson, Avior’s mother
Authorities took the unusual step of publishing his name and photograph despite his being a minor. Police warned that anyone assisting him could be suspected of helping an offender after the crime, an offense carrying a possible prison sentence of up to three years.
Several people have been arrested during the investigation on suspicion of providing Sasson with a support network that enabled him to remain hidden. One of his relatives was among those detained.
Police believe Sasson has avoided using a phone and is living under basic conditions to make it more difficult for investigators to track him. They are now examining whether the relationship between his brother and the prison officer provided an additional channel of assistance during his flight.
Razi and Tzarfi had previously been involved in a volatile relationship that included mutual police complaints and restraining orders.
About 10 months before the killing, Razi complained that Tzarfi was harassing and threatening him and had sent men to threaten his life.
His mother, Dikla Razi, said after his death that she had warned police and that her son’s killing could have been prevented had his complaints been treated more seriously.
The Jerusalem District Police’s central investigative unit continues to search for Sasson and is working to establish the role of each suspect in planning and carrying out the killing, as well as in efforts to help those involved evade arrest afterward.