The State Attorney's Office filed an indictment today (Sunday) in the Tel Aviv District Court against Guy Echtlinger, a 45-year-old street vendor, for the aggravated murder of Rabbi Yishai Pour, 53, in a kollel in Bnei Brak, in front of his 13-year-old son.
According to the indictment, filed by Attorney Meredith Sheiban Perkel of the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office, Echtlinger and Rabbi Yishai For met during Torah studies at the kollel in Bnei Brak.
About a week before the murder, while they were in the kollel, Echtlinger threatened and told the inmate that he would "take his head off," and for an unknown reason decided to murder him.
A few days later, while the rabbi was in the kollel with his 13-year-old son, sitting on a bench with their backs to the entrance, Echtlinger arrived at the kollel wearing a glove and armed with a knife. Echtlinger approached the rabbi from behind, and in front of his son, stabbed him several times in the neck and once in the back with the knife, with the intention of murdering him.
Immediately afterwards, Echtlinger fled the kollel, went to a nearby abandoned building and hid the jacket he was wearing, as well as the glove and knife, in order to hide evidence.
He then drove to Beit Shemesh, where he was arrested a few hours later.
The victim collapsed and was taken to Sheba Hospital with massive bleeding, unconscious. He was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the hospital.
In addition, the indictment accuses Echtlinger of abuse of a minor, by causing him to watch his father's murder, as well as obstruction of justice.
