Sad end: Rose's body identified
Positive ID: DNA test confirms that body found in Yarkon River Thursday belongs to missing child Rose Pizem; meanwhile, Israelis flock to site where body was found to bid murdered girl farewell
Positive identification: A DNA test performed at the Abu-Kabir Forensic Institute has confirmed that the body found in Tel Aviv's Yarkon River Thursday belongs to missing child Rose Pizem.
DNA samples were taken from Rose's mother and father after a red suitcase containing a body was found by a diver in the river's murky waters.
Meanwhile, Rose's mother reportedly wrote her daughter a letter in French while being held in prison.
"Rose, I'm sorry, so sorry that I failed to understand you, to understand your suffering, your pain" wrote Marie Renault. "I'm so sorry that I didn't know how to hold you in my arms and tell you how much I love you…I so much wanted to explain to you today that it isn't easy to be a mother at age 18 and that it's not easy to constantly fight so that people respect you as a young mother."
The letter written by Marie was reportedly filled with spelling errors and crossed out sentences. One of the sentences written and then crossed out by the mother was said to be "I will never forgive the man who did this to you."
'You had the right to live'
Since the suitcase containing Rose's body was found, Israelis have been flocking to the area in order to pay their respects to the sad-eyed girl who touched an entire nation.
Some of them lit memorial candles, others laid bouquets and there were even those who left letters of farewell.
One of the letters was hung on a eucalyptus tree leaning towards the riverbed. Its writers, Gila and Shachar, said in the letter, “Little Rose, we can’t fathom what you went through in your stolen life… Those you thought would nurture and protect you committed a crime against you.
“Now, there is no one to mourn over you or cry for your sorrows. You had a right to live, smile, jump… We are all sorry that this right was not given to you,” they wrote.
Citizen bids farewell to Rose (Photo: George Ginsburg)
Police divers on Friday continued to search the Yarkon River for additional findings related to the murder case.
Painful chapter about to end
The police took a huge but sorrowful sigh of relief on Thursday. Despite the fact that they are trying to maintain caution before the final identification, the investigators hope that the outcomes of the autopsy will allow for a resolved determination of how Rose met her death.
Following approval of a plea submitted by the murder suspects, the pathology team was accompanied by a doctor on their behalf.
“A neutral representative needs to be present to determine the cause of death in order to know with what counts to charge the grandfather,” said their attorney.
The police decided to refrain from appealing the decision. Now, 120 days since Rose went missing, it seems as though this difficult and painful chapter of uncertainty is about to end.
The police investigators have a difficult feat ahead of them of gathering incriminating evidence on the murder suspects, Rose’s grandfather Ronny Ron and her mother Marie Renault.
“If shot or stab wounds or signs of strangulation are found on her body it will be easier to ascribe the couple with murder,” said a police official.
“However, if we don’t find proof that Rose’s death was caused by a criminal act, we may have a problem since Ronny admitted to ‘smacking’ Rose and thus, causing her murder and then it will be difficult to prove that this was murder in the first degree.
“We have circumstantial and other evidence but the findings of the autopsy will determine if this was murder,” said the police official.
