A foreign caregiver was indicted on Monday for the alleged murder of a 97-year-old Holocaust survivor.
Joana Mouhin, 40, is accused of smothering Yehudit Goldstein with a pillow last month shortly after the Moldovan national was hired by the deceased's family.
In recent years, Goldstein has required around-the-clock nursing care due to her medical condition.
In late September, her regular caregiver was about to go on vacation in her homeland, and Goldstein's family members had to find her a replacement. They hired Mouhin after doing a handover with the regular caregiver.
A few days later, Goldstein's relatives came to inspect her work and monitored her through the security cameras installed in the house. They suspected that the caregiver was not providing Goldstein with the care she needed and decided that the two move from Rishon Lezion to a housing unit near her daughter's home in Hadera.
According to the prosecution, on the night of October 11–12, Mouhin approached Goldstein's bed, grabbed a pillow, and placed it over her face, blocking her mouth and nose for several minutes.
The next morning, Goldstein's daughter found her mother's lifeless body lying in bed.
The family did not suspect their elderly mother may have been murdered, but later Mouhin confessed to police of having killed Goldstein. She was immediately arrested and taken in for questioning.
The prosecution demanded an extension to Mouhin's remand, citing compelling evidence it possessed, including the caregiver's confession and a forensic report which found a saliva stain in the center of the pillow with the elderly woman's DNA, as well as the caregiver's DNA.
The defense submitted a request for a psychiatric assessment for Mouhin which the court approved.
Mouhin could be facing up to life in prison.