Murder of Eldar Dayan: Police obtained intelligence that led to the discovery of the body

The police did not find Eldar Dayan's body by chance; they obtained information that he had been murdered and his body hidden near a gas station in Petah Tikva, where the vehicle he was traveling in had been abandoned. Following this information, and the realization that this was a murder case rather than a missing person case, the investigation was transferred last Wednesday from the Petah Tikva station to the Sharon District Central Unit.

Early Thursday morning, police forces arrived at the open area near the gas station and conducted targeted searches, during which the body was located. Investigators were confident it was Dayan's body even before receiving definitive identification from the Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, based on the intelligence they possessed.

The information was obtained, apparently, through investigative techniques applied to Dayan's two friends, Omri Peretz and Maxim Barberman, or through security camera footage that allegedly documented the three walking toward the open area near the station.

According to police suspicions, Peretz and Barberman took Dayan to the area adjacent to the station, attacked him, murdered him, hid the body, and returned to Dimona. At this stage, investigators do not know the motive for the crime.

Peretz and Barberman had maintained their right to silence until now, but in recent days have begun to cooperate with investigators. However, they still do not admit to the act and deny committing it. Investigators are convinced that the two murdered Dayan and estimate that in the coming days they will succeed in extracting a confession and an explanation of why they did it.

Dayan had been missing since July 25. As published in "HaYom", investigation materials revealed that the two suspects had threatened him with murder even before he disappeared. On Thursday, his body was located in an open area near Highway 40. After an identification process at the National Center of Forensic Medicine, it was confirmed to be Dayan, and his family was notified.

The two suspects were arrested on suspicion of involvement in his disappearance, and their detention was extended by six days, until August 12. The investigation continues in the Sharon District Central Unit.