A dramatic development has emerged in the investigation into the deaths of Olga and Ruslan Prikhodko of Rishon Lezion, after police arrested a 17-year-old Arab Israeli suspected of murdering the couple on nationalist grounds, ynet has learned.
The couple were found shot inside a car over the weekend in an open area between Moshav Mishmar Ayalon and the community of Karmei Yosef in central Israel’s lowlands. The teenage suspect was arrested by Yamam counterterrorism forces amid concern he could be armed.
The investigation is being led by the Central District Police’s central unit and the Shin Bet. After police decided Thursday evening to narrow the gag order on the case, it can now be reported that the suspect is being investigated over a double murder allegedly motivated by nationalism.
Investigators believe they have strong evidence linking the teenage suspect to the killings. The suspect’s brother was involved several years ago in a car-ramming attack in central Israel.
Central District police investigators initially believed the case may have been a murder-suicide. But Shin Bet personnel were brought into the case in the early hours of the investigation, and the probe was assigned to the district’s central investigative unit, which at first assessed the killings as criminally motivated.
That theory began to unravel when Ruslan’s personal handgun was not found at the scene. At that stage, investigators still believed the case was criminal and suspected that someone who passed through the area had taken the gun.
The investigation later shifted again when officers arrived at the couple’s home and found the handgun, which Ruslan legally owned, inside a safe. No gunshot residue was found on his hands. That raised the suspicion that another person had killed the couple and fled the scene.
Police then arrested five Arab suspects, but after questioning, investigators determined they were not connected to the double murder and released them. The 17-year-old suspect was arrested later in the investigation.
Ruslan and Olga, who left behind a 14-year-old only son, were laid to rest Wednesday at the cemetery in Rishon Lezion. About 200 relatives, friends and acquaintances accompanied them on their final journey. Ruslan’s mother and sister arrived for the funeral from Ukraine.
Olga’s mother spoke tearfully about her daughter’s beauty and said in her eulogy: “Your husband loved you very much. Don’t worry, we will take care of the boy, we will take care of everyone. Everything will be all right.”
Yehudit Avni, chairwoman of the workers’ committee at Hamashbir Lazarchan, where Olga worked, said Olga had been “like an angel in the branch.”
“She respected everyone and brought light,” Avni said. “She was a devoted and caring mother, a devoted daughter who cared for her mother, and a wife who loved her family and her husband with all her heart. She was hardworking and good, with a wide heart and a beautiful smile that lit up her surroundings. We are all in pain and in shock. How can it be that Olga is gone? You and your husband were not separated, not in life and not in death.”
Olga was 44. Ruslan, 46, worked as an elevator technician for Electra. The couple married in Ukraine and immigrated to Israel in 2000.
Ruth Borisov, Olga’s older sister, told ynet earlier this week that as far as the family was concerned, “they were murdered.” Ruth’s partner, Artyom, was the one summoned by police to the scene where Olga and Ruslan were found shot.
“I am certain of one thing, Olga and Ruslan were murdered,” Artyom said earlier this week. “They were a loving couple, and their only son was their whole world. The three of them had plane tickets to Austria. They were planning to celebrate Olga’s 45th birthday there on June 12. Ruslan loved his wife and his son. They were always together and did everything together.”