Israel arrests alleged killer of US-born teen
- |
JERUSALEM - Israeli detectives have arrested a man who confessed to the 2003 murder of a US-born teenager and three other killings, including that of a Czech tourist, police announced yesterday.
Police identified the suspect as a 32-year-old man from an Arab village in northern Israel, the region where the killings occurred. The man, Adwan Farhan, was already in custody on suspicion of raping an Australian tourist when a tip led homicide detectives to him last month.
"So far according to our inquiries, the suspect is believed to have committed four counts of murder . . . one attempted murder, rapes, two attempted kidnaps, and other crimes of violence," said Avi Algarassi, the police investigator who led the six-year manhunt.
The 2003 disappearance of 18-year-old Dana Bennett captured the nation's attention at the time, since abductions are rare in Israel and it happened during a period of intense fighting with the Palestinians. Algarassi, however, said Farhan's acts had no apparent motive.
Bennett's remains were discovered in a field last month but were only identified last week. A court gag order barred reports of the arrest until yesterday in order not to hamper the police inquiry.
Bennett was born in Chicago to Israeli immigrant parents and grew up in Los Angeles.
