Investigations over the murder of Shelly Dadon Hy''d, the 19-year-old from Afula who was found murdered on May 1 after being on her way to a job interview, have reportedly gone back to the starting point, and security forces remain in the dark even as to the motive.
The lack of progress comes despite Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovich's statements on Memorial Day, just days after the murder, when he met with Dadon's family and announced "dramatic developments" in the investigation.
"The disappointment is great," Ya'akov Dadon, Shelly's father, said Thursday. "I was optimistic, the minister gave me hope, and suddenly everything disappeared. They gave me a feeling that there's dramatic developments, and then everything dissipated before my eyes."
Aharonovich reversed his statement that the murder was soon to be explained mere days later, when he said Monday that her murder might not be nationalistically motivated, despite earlier reports hinting the perpetrator escaped to a nearby Arab village after the murder.
The comments came while touring the Israeli-Arab city of Umm el-Fahm, the site of alleged “price tag” vandalism which he strongly denounced. The minister's choice of venue was seen as less than sensitive, since Dadon's grieving relatives have already pointed to the fact that politicians seem to be far more concerned with the “price tag” attacks, which involve no injuries, than with the savage murder of Shelly.
The following day Aharonovich apologized to the Dadon family for his statements; indeed his perceived mismanagement was criticized this week by a senior official who called Aharonovich a "catastrophe."
"The feeling is that we're returning to the opening points of the investigation, and it's really frustrating. Two weeks after the tragedy and we're at the same point we were at. I fear that the murderers are walking around freely now and might murder other innocent girls," added Dadon. "I still rely on the police and Shabak (Internal Security Services) to get the murderers."
A Nazareth Magistrates Court on Thursday evening rejected a petition to remove the media gag order on the investigation, leaving the order against new publicity in effect until the end of May.
Shelly's parents became worried when their daughter never returned from a job interview in Migdal Haemek in the north. Police linked their reports of her having gone missing with a body found in Migdal Haemek, identifying it as hers.
Apparently Shelly was murdered while speaking on the phone with a cousin; while on the phone, she said "there is someone scary here, I'm being strangled!" Shelly appeared to be referring to a woman [extrapolated from Hebrew grammar - ed.].