Brother vs. brother in dramatic court scene in case of parricide

The courtroom drama of the case of Daniel Maoz (29), accused of brutally murdering his father Noah (64) and mother Nurit (60) in August 2011 reached a climax on Wednesday at the beginning of the presentation of evidence stage. Both Nir and Tamar Maoz, Daniel’s brother and sister, took the witness stand for the prosecution in the Jerusalem District Court.

Maoz was arrested by police on Sept. 11, 2011 as the main suspect in the double murder of his parents, who were found stabbed to death on Aug. 14, in Jerusalem’s Ramot neighborhood. At the time of his arrest, people speculated that Maoz committed the crime because of a large gambling debt he had accumulated over the years, which he intended to pay back after receiving his share of the inheritance.

A police investigation discovered that after the crime, Maoz purchased gas for his vehicle, visited some friends in the area of the crime, and made a withdrawal from an ATM. According to friends, Maoz was seen with drops of blood on his shirt and was said to be acting strangely that day.

According to police reports, Maoz told officers that he was in the bathroom at the time of the murders, but managed to lunge at the attacker after he had already killed his parents. According to the reports Daniel said the man who murdered his parents escaped but he did not report the murders due to his fear of being arrested for the crime.

During a cross-examination of Nir - a police officer in the computerized communications unit of the national police headquarters - Daniel’s court-appointed attorney David Barhoom suddenly looked at him and shouted “You murdered your parents-”

“I didn’t murder them. That’s a lie,” Nir responded firmly.

Tamar (35) - Daniel’s sister and former captain of the Israeli women’s national basketball team - testified against Daniel as well, and in response to Barhoom’s accusation against Nir, stood up and shouted at Daniel “Have you no shame? Have you no shame-,” to which Daniel replied “Listen to him [Barhoom].”

Nir, visibly shaken by the accusation, addressed the head of the panel of judges, Tzvi Segal, and said “Can we end this now? He is abusing me.” He then turned to Barhoom and said “The way you threw this at me will not be forgiven.”

Upon request by prosecution attorney Yuval Kaplinsky, Nir described the moment he discovered the bodies of his parents. “I phoned Danny and told him I was on my way to the house. I told him I was very worried and wanted him to stay with me on the phone. The first thing I noticed about him was a strong smell of bleach. Immediately after that I saw my father, cried out, and the conversation with Danny was over,” Nir said.

After Barhoom changed his line of defense, now claiming that Nir is the true murderer, Segal said he wondered why Daniel kept the identity of the real murderer a secret until now. Barhoom said that Daniel was scared that Nir would disclose his pedophilic tendencies and bisexuality.

Segal continued questioning Daniel and said “It doesn’t make sense that the accused never revealed what he is revealing now at any point in the case. There is a logical difficulty in accepting this explanation.”

Barhoom responded that “They convinced him [Daniel] that he is making a mistake and said they would tell the public about his personal preferences. We are talking about someone who all his life feared someone would find out about his sexual preferences.”

Towards the end of the court session, Barhoom explained his new line saying “It was actually Nir Maoz, Daniel’s brother, who was in the apartment struggling with Daniel, who was also there. It was he, apparently, who murdered his parents.”

At the end of the session, Tamar said “Danny cheated the family for many years and continues to do so today. We feel that it’s as if the horrific murders weren’t enough, and this is the sequel. It’s as if he is adding another sin to his crime.”

Tamar testified that she “had a strong feeling that he [Daniel] was involved in the crime.” She said that during the traditional mourning period, when she and her brother confronted Daniel over his gambling debts, she said to Daniel “We are worried about becoming your next victims.”

Tamar added that when her brother Guy and his wife Keren - both physicians - arrived in Israel two days after the murders, Daniel asked them if bleach can erase traces of DNA and fingerprints. She said that after they told him they were physicians, and not chemists, Daniel went to his room to check something on the Internet. “Afterwards, he returned from his room and said he saw that there are two types of bleach: one that erases and one that does not.”

According to Tamar, she and her brothers noticed there were two knives missing in the kitchen, and when she told Daniel the police were interested in finding the knives, she “felt that he became nervous.”

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