Police commander Uri Weiskopf told the Knesset's Internal Affairs Committee on Wednesday that the police have no evidence that four year-old Rose Pizem, who went missing
four months ago and is believed to have been murdered by her grandfather, was in fact murdered.
"The police have no findings or proof that this is what happened," he said.
| Rose's Mother: |
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| 'Sorry I didn't take care of her' / Raanan Ben-Zur |
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Marie Renault, suspected of involvement in daughter’s murder says, ‘I want my baby back; I couldn’t have imagined what my lover did to Rose' |
| Full story |
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During a special committee discussion, Social Affairs Minister Issac Herzog unveiled a new plan for the treatment of children under the age of five. The program, which is a joint efforts by the Welfare, Health and Education ministries, is aimed at dealing with "the weak point in the interface between parents and the authorities during infancy."
Rose's grandfather, Ronny Ron, changed his testimony
to a claim of innocence on Tuesday, prior to his court hearing.
"I did not murder her. The last time I saw her she was alive, at my mother's house. Go and ask her; she's manipulative," he told reporters. "The last time I saw (Rose) she was in my mother's care."
He added that he had been coerced into a confession. Ron had confessed to the girl's murder several weeks ago, after being arrested in relation to her disappearance.
Asked why he confessed to killing Rose, Ron said "because I thought it would help my mother and the little girls. (Police) threatened that my girls would grow up to be prostitutes, become involved in drugs and be handed over to foster homes.
During the court hearing it was further revealed that letters written by Rose's mother, Marie Renault, to her lover Ronny Ron, which were found in her apartment, read "I am shocked by what happened to Rose. I feel like a bad mother."
Police officials stressed that Ron's claim of innocence would not change the course of the investigation and that the search for Rose in Tel Aviv's Yarkon River would continue. Ron had previously told police that he tossed a suitcase containing Rose's body into the river.
"Ron is still under arrest and his new version is a result of stress," one official said.
According to another police source, Ron "is only now beginning to understand what he got himself into and is trying to save himself, but it's too late. We have his confession and reenactment of the murder on tape.
"Ron said Rose died after he hit her in the car, but his testimony will have to be reviewed before an indictment is filed, although the confession and reenactment should suffice," the official said.
The search for for Rose was resumed Wednesday morning. Some 100 Border Guard officers and police took part in the search, which spanned from the Glilot Junction towards Tel Aviv. Police divers resumed their search for Rose's remains in the Yarkon River.
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