On October 17, 2009, Israelis woke up to news of a gruesome massacre in Rishon LeTzion. The victims were six members of the Oshrenko family: grandparents Edward and Ludmilla, their son Dmitri and his wife Tatiana, and their young children Revital (3) and Netanel (4 months) – who were all stabbed to death.
Monday morning, the District Court in Petach Tikva convicted Damien Kirilik of the murders. He was also convicted of conspiracy to murder and of breaking and entering.
Last year, the court convicted Kirilik's wife and co-conspirator, Natalia, of manslaughter regarding the murder of the grandfather, Edward Oshrenko. She is serving a 13 year sentence. While she was a full partner in the planning of the murders, their execution and the following cover-up of evidence, she was not physically present at the Oshrenko apartment while her husband carried out the slaughter.
Damien Kirilik admitted the murders and reenacted them – then recanted and said he was innocent and had confessed because of the harsh conditions in which police had held him and due to pressure applied to him.
According to the charge sheet he was convicted of, Kirilik resented Dmitri Oshrenko, his former employer, who had fired him from his position as head waiter in a club owned by Oshrenko. He and his wife conspired to murder Oshrenko and to steal money from the club.