Scene of the incident
Photo: Gadi Kabalo
Maintaining Divine Presence drowned her baby, mother charged with murder
Mother who drowned infant son says Divine Presence pulled her baby under water, and that she allowed him to drown so he could become the 'King Messiah.' She is charged murder.
The Haredi mother who drowned her infant son in an Ashdod hotel room earlier this month was indicted for murder Thursday afternoon. She had been in police custody since April 2.
The Southern District Attorney indicted the mother at the Be'er Sheva District Court. The indictment said that a day prior to the alleged murder the defendant, a 27-year-old Beit Shemesh resident, arrived at the hotel with her husband, mother, children and other relatives.
The couple and their infant son stayed in one room, whereas the other family members stayed in two additional rooms.
The following day, possibly around noon, she went into the room's full Jacuzzi with the baby in her hands, released her grip and then left the Jacuzzi when his head was underwater, thereby allowing him to drown.
Scene of the incident (Photo: Barel Efraim)
She only came back several minutes later, during which time her family members banged on the door. She refused to open the door, however, telling them, "Not now," according to the indictment.
Some time later the woman's mother and her husband found the baby and attempted to resuscitate him while simultaneously contacting emergency services to the scene.
The infant was later declared dead at the Assuta Ashdod Medical Center, where he was rushed.
The indictment then said the accused killed her child "in cold blood, under circumstances where she was capable of understanding the ramifications of her actions, having prepared both herself and the means to kill him. Her actions led to his premeditated murder."
In her police testimony, the mother said she went into the Jacuzzi with her infant son to wash him. She claimed the Shekhinah (the divine presence of God in liturgical literature—ed) then revealed itself to her, and pulled the baby under.
She further maintained that she let go of the baby, allowing him to drown, so he can grow up to be the "King Messiah."
After her interrogation, the mother reenacted the crime accompanied by police investigators. She also implicated her husband in the crime, and he was therefore arrested and interrogated as well.
Haredim protesting baby's autopsy (Photo: Liran Tamari Meinat)
The father's testimony was not congruent with testimonies collected from the mother and his mother-in-law, and he later admitted to having fabricated portions of his own testimony, alleging that he was protecting his wife.
Additional testimony taken from the suspect's mother alleged the father, too shocked and distraught from the incident, broke down in tears instead of rushing to his son's aid.
According to her, she went twice to the room during the morning hours, but her entry was denied each time on a different pretext. On her third visit, she opened the door and noticed the father sitting and weeping while the baby was face down in the water. She immediately took the toddler out of the water and began basic resuscitation attempts, ordering the father to call an ambulance.
