Clashes Outside Family Court at Custody Hearing Over Murdered Woman's Child
A violent clash occurred outside the Petah Tikva Family Court during a custody hearing for the daughter of Lia Malka, who was murdered in June. Her ex-husband, once a murder suspect, faced angry relatives.
A violent altercation broke out on Monday outside the Family Court in Petah Tikva, where Chen Cohen, the ex-husband of the late Lia Malka, arrived for a custody hearing regarding their daughter.
Malka was tragically murdered in early June when an explosive device detonated in her car on Highway 20. Cohen was initially arrested on suspicion of murder but was later released after police failed to gather sufficient evidence. As he arrived at the court, members of Malka's family attempted to physically attack him, but security guards intervened, allowing him to enter the building and proceed to the courtroom.
After tempers cooled, the victim's father, Yakov Malka, spoke out about the dispute. "All he cares about is the money," Yakov Malka said. "We have already announced that we will not touch the life insurance money and that everything will be saved for the child. He jumped on the bandwagon demanding to 'get the money coming to him,' even though he signed a divorce agreement—which had not yet received court approval—in which he agreed to waive these funds."
He added, "I hope the court will do justice for the child so she can live in peace and quiet. For me, he will always be guilty. I am full of emotion inside, but I do not intend to make any dramas. Everything else will be handled behind the closed doors of the courtroom. Next month, his trial for threatening all family members will begin, and I hope he will be held accountable there, because everything he said and wrote in those threats came true. He said we would sit 'shivah,' and behold, we sat shivah. He didn't bother to show up—neither to the mourning nor to the grave. He only went to the police to provide an alibi. It is infuriating, but I will overcome it because I am a law-abiding person."
Esther, Lia's aunt, also expressed outrage: "Should someone like that look after his daughter? He threatened to murder her; how is he going to raise her? He has been harassing the family since the divorce proceedings began. He destroyed both families."
