The killing of Yael (Lital) Melnik () was a widely reported criminal case in Israel involving the death of a 17-year-old girl in early October 2021. Her body was found buried alive, as her airways were filled with sand and there were no external signs of violence on her body. She was found at a construction site in Kiryat Motzkin, a city located within the Haifa metropolitan area in northern Israel.Jerusalem Post, 49-year-old man suspected of premeditated murder of teenage girl
The case drew national attention because Melnik had been hospitalized in a psychiatric facility and had formed a relationship with a much older nurse who worked there, raising concerns about abuse of power and the protection of vulnerable minors in mental health institutions.
The nurse, in his fifties,יואב איתיאל, אדוארד קצורה זוכה מרצח הנערה יעל ליטל מלניק, קצורה בן ה-51 was arrested and later put on trial. The State of Israel accused him of murder, but the defense argued that Melnik's death occurred during or after a ritual they claimed she had requested. The Haifa District Court's lengthy verdict cleared him of murder, but found him guilty of negligent homicide,Lior El-Hai, Haifa court acquits man of murdering teen who was buried alive unlawful sexual relationship of dependency, and violation of a restraining order.Gila Isaacson, Israeli Predator Kills 17 Year Old Girl, Judge Says He's Not Guiltyליאור אל-חי, דרמה בבית המשפט: קבר את ליטל יעל בעודה בחיים – וזוכה מרצחחדשות 13, אפשר היה להציל את ליטל עדויות מביה"ח הפסיכיאטרי בו אושפזה ליטל יעל מלניק לפני שנרצחה, YouTube
Background YaelAccording to page 17 of the Haifa District Court verdict, her desire was to be called Yael Melnik was born as the second child in Belgium with withdrawal syndrome.page 17 of the verdict Her father immigrated to Israel when she was two years old, while Yael remained in Belgium with her mother and sister, Ruth.אורי לוי, "הרבה שאלות פתוחות": מאחורי מותה של ליטל יעל מלניק – וההחלטה הדרמטית של המדינה Later, due to their mother's inability to care for them, Yael and Ruth were brought to Israel by their paternal grandparents, who raised them in Or Akiva. When Yael was eight, their father left Israel. The grandparents served as the girls' guardians and were formally appointed as such.
Yael had attention deficit disorder. She experienced significant difficulties in her life, including the absence of parents and conflicts with her grandparents, which contributed to her emotional distress and suicidal thoughts.p. 21 of the verdict At the age of 16, she began self-harming.pp. 18, 20, 21, 36 of the verdict
On 30 December 2020, Yael arrived at in Tirat Carmel with her grandmother and reported that she had considered swallowing pills. The examining physician determined that Yael had non‑specific suicidal thoughts and decided to admit her for hospitalization due to depressive content and a behavioral disorder. Yael objected to the hospitalization, but at the request of welfare authorities, the Juvenile Court issued an order for her admission to Ma'ale Carmel in January 2021.p. 20 of the verdict
Edward Kachura, a divorced man and father of two adult children, met Melnik while she was being treated at the hospital where he worked as a nurse and expressed feelings toward her.חדשות כיפה, כתב אישום הוגש נגד רוצח ליטל יעל מלניק ז"ל בגין רצח ועבירות נוספותליאור אל-חי, קו ההגנה של הנאשם ברצח הנערה ליטל יעל: "היא הייתה אהבת חיי" Melnik, who was emotionally unstable, developed romantic feelings for Kachura. She contacted him on 17 March 2021, the day after her release from hospitalization, and the two began associating, meeting outside the hospital. In April 2021, they began having sexual relations, which continued for about six months.דבר, אדוארד קצ'ורה, שקבר בחיים את הנערה ליטל יעל מלניק, זוכה מרצח מחמת הספק During this period, Melnik frequently stayed away from home and spent long hours at Kachura's residence. Her grandparents, who raised her, opposed the relationship. Ruth found birth control pills among Yael's belongings and confronted her about it.pp. 33–34 of the verdict
At her grandmother's request, the Hadera Magistrate's Court issued a restraining order against Kachura on 20 May 2021, and Melnik was classified as a minor at risk, according to the testimony of a social worker from Or Akiva.p. 40 of the verdict Despite the court order, Kachura maintained his relationship with Melnik and continued to meet her. Melnik stole money from her family to finance their encounters and gave Kachura 4,000 ILS that she had received as a birthday gift. Kachura also encouraged Melnik to use cocaine and expressed anger when she refused.p. 41–42 of the verdict Later, with her consent, the welfare authorities placed Melnik at the "Eden" youth residential facility in Kibbutz Karmia, due to her being at risk and her continued connection with Kachura.יואב איתיאל, מה באמת קרה שם? כל הפרטים מאחורי הזיכוי של אדי קצורה ברצח הנערה יעל מלניק
Two days later, in the morning, Melnik was granted a weekend leave from the residential facility. She called Kachura and asked to come to his home. Despite the restraining order, he agreed, and she went to his house instead of returning to her grandmother's. They spent many hours together and had sexual relations.p. 44 of the verdict After the grandmother reported her disappearance, police officers arrived at Kachura's apartment. Their knocking went unanswered, and they left the premises. Subsequently, Kachura and Melnik left the apartment at around 11 p.m. to avoid the police in case they returned.pp. 11, 13 of the verdict They spent the rest of the night wandering the streets and, as was their habit during the months of their prohibited relationship, engaged in intimate conversations.
The killing According to Kachura's advocate at court, Melnik aimed to participate in a ritual intended to "heal the soul". She allegedly sought to enter the sand as Lital and emerge as Yael,p. 14 of the verdict in an effort "to rid herself of suicidal thoughts"p. 356 of the verdict and to undergo rebirth.pp. 6, 362 of the verdict After spending the night wandering the streets, the two went to the "Gan HaBanim""Garden of the Sons" park in Kiryat Motzkin at 5:58 a.m., where they intended to dig a pit for Melnik to enter, while Kachura would cover her in a way that would still allow her to breathe inside. They used a toy shovel they had found discarded in the trash earlier that night and attempted to dig in the park, but were unsuccessful because the ground was too hard.pp. 14, 92, 283, 291, 302 of the verdict
They left "Gan HaBanim" and arrived at 7:39 a.m. at the construction site of "Dar Nofarim",Dar Nofarim official website located at the intersection of Shai Agnon and Ehud Manor streets in Kiryat Motzkin. At the construction site, they tried to dig in several places using real shovels they found, but again without success. Before 8:15 a.m., they reached a sand mound at the site, where they dug the grave. At 8:15 a.m., Kachura went to the dumpster at the construction site and took a bamboo net and Styrofoam to place them at the bottom of the grave. At 8:21 a.m., Kachura entered a building at the construction site and took a pipe approximately 1.2 meters long and 1.6 cm in diameter.p. 11 of the verdict The amended indictment later stated that the pipe's diameter was only 1.5 cm. One minute later, Kachura returned to the sand mound, and Melnik, who trusted him, entered the grave, inserted the pipe into her mouth, and held it with both hands so she could breathe while covered with sand inside the grave.p. 12 of the verdict
According to the indictment filed by the State of Israel against Kachura, he decided to cause the death of Melnik, although no motive was presented.ארנון גל, אסף ליברמן, רוני זינגר, זמן אמת עונה שמינית פרק ארבעה עשר – הסודות שנקברו בחול The indictment stated that he covered her entire body and face with sand using a shovel while she was still alive, then removed her breathing tube and forcibly prevented her from rising from the sand. After her death, he left the scene. The indictment also included charges of statutory rape of a minor under the age of 18 by exploiting a relationship of dependence, and violation of a court order. According to the indictment, Melnik's death was caused by asphyxia due to obstruction of the airways with sand and gravel that Melnik inhaled while she was still alive.
Police investigation Hussein Muassi, the construction site's security guard, noticed the couple at the site at 7 a.m., carrying two shovels. He saw them digging, and observed that Kachura brought styrofoam and additional wooden material. Sand mounds at the site partially obscured the guard's line of sight, and the couple disappeared among the hills. According to the guard, Melnik also took part in the digging, and he saw no signs of struggle between Melnik and Kachura. When the guard noticed that Kachura had left the area, he went up to the building from his booth to get a better view, but saw nothing. He spotted a passerby and asked him to come along, but the passerby was busy and left. Both the passerby and the guard were later seen in the security cameras' footage. When the guard approached the spot, he saw two shovels and then noticed hands and folded fingers with nail polish. Eight minutes after Kachura had left, the guard stood a meter and a half from the body, seeing only Melnik's hands outside the sand, motionless. He immediately ran back to his booth at 8:47 a.m., where his cellphone was. Nineteen minutes later, he called the police, fearing he might become a suspect.pp. 51–55 of the verdictToI Staff, Prosecutors to charge nurse with murder in death of 17-year-old Lital Yael Melnik
The guard joined the first police car to arrive at the scene, which carried police officer Master Sergeant Liat Turgeman and municipal inspector Husni Salah. The discovery of the body distressed Liat, preventing her from taking the guard's testimony, but she instructed Husni to seal off the site as a murder scene and did not allow the Magen David Adom medical team to enter. Husni also stopped near Melnik's bag and avoided stepping on the grave.p. 60 of the verdict Five additional police cars arrived at the site, but no one stepped on the grave until the arrival of the forensic team.p. 62 of the verdict None of the witnesses saw a tube in Melnik's mouth or hands. After the sand was cleared, Melnik was found with her mouth open and sand in her mouth, nose, and eyes. Two pairs of work gloves were found at the site, containing DNA from both Kachura and Melnik. DNA from Melnik was also found on a tube near her body, and on an empty aluminum pill blister pack folded in a V shape, which had been used to clamp Melnik's nose shut.pp. 64–65 of the verdict
Following the incident, Liat said in a television interview that she had left the police force. Superintendent Tomer Kaslasi, the head of the investigation team,p. 368 of the verdict also left the police.
The police arrested Kachura on the day of the incident (2 October 2021) at 11:40 a.m.,pp. 265, 293 of the verdict and in his interrogation on the same day, he denied being in a romantic relationship with Melnik. He made the same denial to the police who came to his home on 5 June 2021, after Melnik had run away the previous day from "The House on Haim Street",p. 39 of the verdict where she had been placed by welfare authorities after she reported her grandmother to the police for violence, following the discovery of the birth control pills.pp. 34–36 of the verdict