First considered by police a murder-suicide, the deaths of Olga and Ruslan Prikhodko are now suspected terrorism. An Arab-Israeli, 17, is in custody. His incarceration has been extended for eight days.
Investigators said they have strong evidence linking the suspect to the murder. The suspect’s brother was involved in a car-ramming attack a few years ago, Ynet reported.
Olga, 44, and Ruslan, 46, an Israeli couple from Rishon Letzion, were found shot to death inside their vehicle in a rural area of central Israel last week. They made aliyah from the Ukraine in 2000. They leave behind a 14-year-old boy.
The murder-suicide theory was quickly undermined when Ruslan’s personal firearm wasn’t found at the scene. When police arrived at the couple’s home, they found his legally licensed gun in his safe. Authorities then suspected someone had murdered the couple and escaped the area.
Five Arabs were arrested. They were released after none turned out to be connected to the case. The current suspect was arrested on Wednesday.
Artyom, the boyfriend of Olga’s older sister, told Ynet: “We knew this from the first moment. Now it’s important for the entire public to know that this is not murder-suicide. Everyone knew who Ruslan and Olga were. It didn’t make sense. From the first moment, we knew that Ruslan would not do such a thing. An orphaned child is left without a father and without a mother.”
Earlier in the week, Artyom said, “I am sure of one thing. Olga and Ruslan were murdered. They were a loving couple and their only child was their whole world. The three of them had plane tickets to Austria. They planned to celebrate Olga’s 45th birthday there on June 12. Ruslan loved his wife and son, they were always together and did everything together.”
