A court in Petah Tiqva on Tuesday extended by six days the remand of model Leen Peer, 31, and her co‑suspect David Kricheli, 36, in the murder investigation of Shalom Nissim, whose body was found outside Peer’s apartment last month.
Police had originally requested a 10‑day extension. Two other suspects — Maor Elisha, 39, and Bar Otmazgin, 29 — who were also at the apartment are in custody under suspicion of hurling the victim to his death from a balcony.
During the hearing, a police representative told the court the probe “is progressing. A prosecuting attorney is assigned and we were instructed to complete investigative actions. All suspects are currently charged with murder. On the victim’s body we found clear signs of violence before the fall or push. A confrontation occurred between the suspect and two of the other suspects. She is cooperating with the investigation and has given us six separate versions, changing day to day.”
Peer, whose name was initially withheld under a gag order, has been represented since last week by public defender Anat Yaari, after firing her previous lawyer. The defense lawyer replied to the police statement: “This is already our fourth remand extension. To date the police have no document showing whether the victim’s death was caused by the stab wounds or by the fall. My client is cooperating, unlike the other suspects who are exercising their right to silence. She is a single mother of a 12‑year‑old boy and the time has come to release her to house arrest.”
Nissim was found dead on Oct. 15 near Peer’s apartment following a report of a man in his 30s found beneath a balcony. Initially believed to be a suicide, the investigation was upgraded to a homicide after an autopsy at the National Center of Forensic Medicine in Tel Aviv revealed suspicious findings.
Investigators say all four suspects were using drugs in Peer’s apartment when Nissim arrived and an argument broke out. He was attacked, stabbed, allegedly pepper‑sprayed and eventually thrown from the balcony. Peer is suspected of having had a romantic‑sexual relationship with at least one of the additional suspects. All four face charges of premeditated murder and conspiracy.
Following the naming of Peer this week, her lawyer issued a statement: “Leen is a young, law‑abiding woman with no criminal record who got caught in a conflict among criminals. She has submitted her version of events and denies the charges against her.”