The prosecutor's office filed an indictment against Sigal Yana Itzkovich, 33, on Sunday for the aggravated murder of her 6-year-old son Liam with a knife in the bathtub in their home in Herzliya about a month ago. Her detention was extended for the fifth time and an indictment was filed against her, and submitted to the District Court in Tel Aviv.
The indictment states Liam suffered "at least 15 cut wounds on the body, arms and face," after being stabbed multiple times with a 20-centimeter blade kitchen knife. According to the indictment, after she stabbed her son in the bathroom, she went out to the living room, where her injured dog was howling from the previous stabbings, and killed her after stabbing her repeatedly again, fearing the neighbors would hear the howls.
The indictment also states that after she noticed that her dog was dead, she "took a double-edged ax and stabbed her several more times." Overall, Itzkovich stabbed the family dog more than 40 times with 20 cuts and stabs in the head and face and more than 24 stabs in the chest area. After her gruesome acts, she washed the knife "with the intention of preventing or obstructing judicial proceedings," changed clothes, and left her house barefoot with an axe, still bloody from the murders, to the Herzliya mall.
On her way, she attacked bystanders and the mall security guard, injuring the guard and hitting a car. The indictment charges her with crimes of aggravated assault, murder, killing an animal, and obstruction of justice.
Itzkovich asked to be released at the hearing on Wednesday, claiming: "My family and I were attacked by extraterrestrials for two weeks. It was an intense attack. I saw extraterrestrials, I was abducted into a spaceship with my family, and I had no protection." Despite the serious allegations, she also said, "I need to return home to get ready, collect things, clean, prepare food. I have a lot of things to do at home."
About two weeks ago, Itzkovich returned to her home where she stabbed her son Liam to death to recreate the scene for the investigation. Instead, she threw a fit which did not surprise her attorney. "Her mental state is not well enough to carry out a reconstruction of the scene."
Binyamin Malka, Sigal's attorneyPhoto: Moti KimchiThe security guard fought with Itskovich until she was arrested. At first, only the attack near the mall was reported but later Liam's grandmother, Sigal's mother, discovered the horror in the apartment. Since the gruesome murder, she has been issued a psychiatric evaluation designed to determine whether she is fit to stand trial. In one of the hearings, Itzkovich apologized for what she defined as a "heinous act" and hurled accusations at her partner, claiming that he had "bullied" her financially.
Itskovich confessed during her investigation to the murders, and pleaded guilty. When asked why she murdered her son, she replied: "I don't know what happened to me. Maybe a demon possessed me. I was in a craze, I saw darkness, and a voice told me to do it. I quickly stabbed them, my son and the dog, I took the ax and left the house without knowing what I was doing. I ran into the street, I was in a state of confusion until they arrested me."