The chief judge of the Nazareth District Court, Judge Asher Kola, announced on Thursday the acquittal of Roman Zadorov, who was convicted three times for the murder of Tair Rada in her school in Qatzrin in the Golan Heights.
Zadorov burst into tears upon hearing the verdict. “We did it, I can’t believe it,” his son proclaimed.
Zadorov was convicted for the 2006 murder and stood a requested retrial. Following two appeals and countless testimonies and evidence that were added to the case, Zadorov was released to house arrest last year, and today he was acquitted by a two-to-one majority. Judge Tamar Nissim-Shai was in the minority.
Tair’s mother, Ilana Rada, said yesterday that she expected the court to acquit Zadorov.
Upon entering the courtroom, Judge Kola stated: “At the beginning of the announcement, as ordered by the legislator, we announce that we have decided, according to the majority opinion of Kola and Zarfati, against the opinion of Tamar Nissim-Shai, to acquit the defendant.
We are dealing with an unacceptably tragic incident. She (Tair) died in her school, which became a murder scene. As the days passed, the public interest in the case became more substantial, and we hope that now the feelings will be calmed,” said the judge.
The judge explained the acquittal: “The new issues that were at the center of the reasoning of the retrial are what tipped the scale. There was no clear proof beyond a reasonable doubt, and the evidence from the scene did not fit the defendant’s confession.”
13-year-old Tair Rada was found murdered in the Nofei Golan school bathroom in 2006. Zadorov was convicted of her murder but claimed the entire time that he was innocent.
For years he fought for a retrial, during which several substantial testimonies that supported Zadorov’s claim were heard.
In addition, a mitochondrial DNA test found that an additional hair that was found on the victim’s lower body may belong to Adir Habani, the former partner of Ola Krechenko, who in the past claimed that she was the one who murdered the girl. Out of 18 hairs, 17 belonged to Tair, and one to Krechenko’s partner.