(JTA) — An Israeli man was convicted of murder for slashing the throats of his two American-Israeli children two years ago.
Avi Levy was convicted Monday in Lod District Court despite his plea of temporary insanity, the Times of Israel reported. Levy was silent throughout his trial in the killings of Yishai, 12, and Naomi, 10, refusing to testify.
Levy will be sentenced next month; the prosecution is seeking two life sentences in prison.
Yishai and Naomi lived in Columbus, Ohio, moving there with their mother, Karen, after their parents divorced and Karen was granted custody.
On July 11, 2014, the children came to Israel to visit Levy for the summer. That evening, Levy murdered the two children in his home on a moshav in central Israel, in what apparently was intended as an act of revenge directed at their mother.
Before the couple divorced, Karen Levy had filed domestic violence complaints against her then-husband. She resided in a women’s shelter for victims of domestic violence during the divorce proceedings.
Levy turned himself in at a police station shortly after murdering the children. According to the Times of Israel, Levy confessed to the crime during the initial investigation, but then stopped cooperating.
The children, who had dual Israeli-American citizenship, were buried in Columbus.
