Arrest (illustrative)
Arrest (illustrative)Flash 90

An 18-year-old murder case is finally being brought to a close, as justice will apparently be served to the murderer who stabbed a 25-year-old to death at a Haifa party back in 1998 before fleeing to Berlin.

Edward Rothberg was murdered at a party on Nordau Street in the northern coastal city on March 7, 1998, and within mere hours his murderer had already escaped Israel. He made his way to the German capital, where he has been living under a false identity ever since.

The elusive criminal was finally caught and brought back to Israel late on Tuesday by Israeli investigators; police are to ask for an extension of his arrest at the Haifa Magistrate's Court on Wednesday morning.

Police began launching new efforts to finally crack the case two years ago, after the murderer was identified by a man in Berlin who passed along the information to Israeli police.

The murder suspect is a 43-year-old married father of one and former Haifa resident, and he was brought in following extensive efforts by the police together with cooperation by German authorities.

Last week police investigators left for Berlin to bring the suspect back to Israel for investigation.