Sigal Yana Itskovitch, suspected of murdering her 6-year-old son Liam in their Herzliya apartment using an axe, confessed to the crime during her interrogation on Thursday. In her confession, Itskovich recounted the murder in detail but failed to share the motive behind her actions.
"What happened to us is a disaster," Liam Hass Itskovitch’s grandfather, Marcel, said in an interview with Ynet on Thursday. He described Liam as a child who constantly wore a smile. "He was very athletic and trained in judo. His father was his best friend, playing with him after work."
According to the grandfather, "Liam was very calm. He would play with Lego for many hours. Doron [the father] played with him every moment he had. He was supposed to start first grade in a month and a half."
The Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court on Wednesday remanded the mother to custody and ordered she be hospitalized at a psychiatric ward to ascertain if she was fit to remain in detention.
The murder case shocked Herzliya residents, who described the mother as being very dedicated to her son. "They’re good people. She’s a loving mother, and it’s unclear what happened," one neighbor told Ynet.
Itskovitch was arrested on Wednesday after charging at passersby with an ax and attacking a security guard at a shopping mall in Herzliya. After her arrest, the child's grandmother, mother of the suspect, discovered his body at the family home. The suspect's husband and the child's father, who was on reserve duty near Gaza, rushed to Herzliya upon receiving the news.
Reports indicate that the mother did not attend the hearing. A source involved in the case stated: "The suspect isn’t communicating, and it is impossible to talk to her."
Attorney Benjamin Malka, representing the suspect, remarked before the hearing: "This is a terrible tragedy. A family has lost their child. We’re only starting to learn about this shocking and horrific case and especially what led up to it."
During the hearing, a police representative detailed the suspect's alleged actions. "The suspect murdered her son and her dog, then went to a shopping mall where she attempted to harm passersby and eventually attempted to murder a security guard using a cold weapon. She was arrested and taken to the hospital.