Israeli guard admits to beheading his wife

Israel Prison Service officer confesses to brutal slaying of wife; says he thought she was unfaithful

Beersheba was reeling Thursday from the gruesome murder of Sarah Yassu, 37, who was beheaded by her husband overnight, as their three children were sleeping in the next room.

Hanoch Yassu, 41, an Israel Prison Service officer, confessed to the act and led the police to the site where he buried his wife's head. He told the investigators he suspected that his wife was cheating on him.

According to available details, the Yassu called the police after the act, saying that he and his wife had attempted suicide. Police and emergency services scrambled to the scene found the woman's headless body, but no sign of Yassu himself.



Victim's body taken from murder scene (Photo: Eliad Levy)


He was found drunk near the detention facility where he works a short time later.

Crime scene investigators spent the morning collecting forensic evidence at the scene. The knife believed to have been used in the murder was found in the house.

The police intend to ask the Beersheba Magistrate's Court to remand Yassu pending the conclusion of the legal proceedings against him.

Dozens of family members and friends arrived and Sarah Yassu's parents' home Thursday. Her brother, a social worker with the City, was asked to break the devastating news to the couple's children.

One family member told Ynet that "There were no warning signs whatsoever."