The Jerusalem district attorney on Tuesday announced that a decision has been made to indict on charges of negligent manslaughter and criminal negligence the suspects behind the tragic death of an IDF soldier in 2012.
First Lt. Hila Betzaleli z''l (20) was killed in rehearsals before an Independence Day ceremony at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem when a light fixture collapsed on her. The light fixture wounded an additional seven soldiers.
The indictment on Tuesday was filed against Elad Lavie, Doron Lavie, Yitzhak Tzuker, Oren Warshevski, Taimuraz Leonidza, and the stage design company "Itzuv Bama."
Elad and Doron Lavi were Itzuv Bama's founders and CEO and COO respectively; Leonidza was the company's director of operations; Tzuker was a safety consultant for the event, and Warshevski was an engineer involved in the stage's construction and design.
An announcement was also sent to Sigalit Betzaleli, the mother of the soldier.
In an investigation of the incident it became clear that a heavy cable that connected the light fixture to concrete blocks by using special hooks broke as a result of strong winds that were blowing at the site.
When the cable - which according to security standards should have been capable of withstanding the wind force - broke, the concrete block began to be dragged after it, bringing down the light fixture.
Police reportedly faced difficulty during the lengthy investigation as the suspects tried to put the blame on each other. Sela and Tzuker blamed Warshevski, the engineer, while Warshevski argued that he was the least senior staffer of the group and had warned the others that the structure might be unstable.