Murderer of Israeli in The Hague sentenced to 14 years
Hague court sentences Israeli career criminal to 14 years in prison following conviction of mysterious murder of another Israeli expat 27 years ago; 'Family has been living in uncertainty for past 27 years,' judge says before pronouncing sentence; case went cold until new methods of testing DNA allowed to convict Amona.
A court in The Hague sentenced Friday Daniel Amona, convicted of murdering Miriam Sharon in 1990, to 14 years in prison. The verdict was handed down two weeks after Amona's trial commenced, as the prime suspect had only been arrested for the murder last year.
"The family has been living in uncertainty for the past 27 years," said the judge during the sentencing hearing with Amona sitting in silence before him. Sharon's family started wailing immediately as the sentence reading began, Dutch media reported.
After his release, Amona returned to Israel and started a family. When he returned to Holland in August of last year he was arrested again. Despite the conviction, 27 years after the fact the murder's motive remains unclear.
Samples were collected at the scene of the murder from two cigarette butts and scissors that were apparently used to cut through a phone cable. In a hearing taking place two weeks ago, a photo from the crime scene was displayed showing an upturned table, a chair thrown at the doorstep and blood everywhere.
"The deceased apparently tried escaping through the door, but was stopped," the prosecution's representative said.
A card from a Brussels coat check room was found in one of the pockets of a black leather coat found in Sharon's apartment. Investigators were able to then use the card to find a bag that may have belonged to Amona and an additional person, an Israeli criminal who has since died.
Amona maintained his right to silence during the hearing, but police investigators eavesdropped on him during the time he was arrested. Amona was recorded as saying "I didn't do it" in one conversation, but said "I'll never admit it, but I may have seen something" in another. This prompted the judge presiding over the case to remark "it appears he knows more than he lets on."
In other conversations Amona had with his wife the two were heard trying to coordinate their accounts. "Worst comes to worst we'll shift blame to your now-deceased partner," his wife was heard saying during a visit to the Dutch prison where Amona was held.
The two were also heard discussing possible scenarios turning the crime into manslaughter without malicious intent, with Amona telling his wife, "Don't worry, it'll be okay."
Ynet published in March of this year that Amona was a Petah Tikva career criminal who went in and out of Israeli jails since the age of 17. He was embroiled in drug, violence and property offenses and served lengthy prison terms. At some point he was even defined as a drug addict and appealed to a judge to allow him to undergo rehabilitation in Jaffa.
Sharon left Israel in 1979 when she was 25. During a trip in The Netherlands she met a local painter and fell in love with him. The two were married and had a daughter and son, but decided to separate several years later. On October 8, 1990 Sharon's body was found in her Hague apartment.
Speaking to Ynet, Sharon's family said they weren't pleased with the conviction or the verdict and were especially incensed at the killer's silence.
"We're happy the court found him guilty of the murder we all knew he committed throughout this entire time," the family said.
Since his arrest and throughout his trial Amona remained completely silent, a fact that infuriated his victim's family. "His decision to remain silent and not divulge what motivated him to murder Miriam and to live for 27 years as if nothing had happened, not to mention starting a family of his own is simply maddening," Sharon's family lamented.
Sharon's family members also considered the punishment Amona received to be too light. "We don't think that's a satisfactory punishment for a crime so heinous. It's a wound that has been open for far too long," the family said.
