Getagon Tadesse repeatedly shot and murdered father and daughter, both attorneys, aged 51 and 26 at close range

Getagon Tadesse repeatedly shot and murdered father and daughter, both attorneys, aged 51 and 26 at close range

Several hundred mourners attended the Beit Shemesh funeral of Natan Jorno and his daughter Yamit Wednesday afternoon, both of whom were gunned down Tuesday morning in the elder Jorno’s law firm by a disgruntled security guard and client over an alleged monetary dispute.

The father and daughter, both attorneys, aged 51 and 26, were shot repeatedly at close range by the suspect – Getagon Tadesse, 49, a Ma’aleh Adumim resident who made aliya from Ethiopia in 2004 – in the family-owned law office, on the third floor of Jerusalem’s Clal building.

According to police, Tadesse, a father of four, had retained Jorno’s law firm to represent him in divorce proceedings. Claiming to be dissatisfied with the representation, Tadesse went into the law office to demand his money back before brutally killing the two.

Tadesse was apprehended shortly after the murders by police officers in the building and has since confessed to the crime and said he will plead insanity in his defense, according to the District Magistrate’s Court.

Although Tadesse has no history of mental illness, the judge presiding over his Wednesday arraignment ordered him to undergo a psychiatric examination and remanded him for an additional eight days.

At the funeral Wednesday, Gilad Ofir, who attended the Academic Center of Law and Business with Yamit, delivered a moving eulogy, describing his close friend as an “angel” and “eternal optimist,” who always remained positive and inspired her many friends.

“This is what it feels like when your heart is broken,” said Ofir in his eulogy. “Love is the one word that reflects your whole self, your strengths and your humanity – the joy inherent in you, your infinite grace, your endless beauty and your incredible ability to love and want to be good.”

“You were full of love, and no one can take from you,” he continued.

Ofir recounted a conversation he had with Yamit a week earlier, during which he told her how exceptional and beautiful she was, which he said made her blush.

“I meant every word,” he said.

Natan’s sister, Shoshi also lovingly eulogized her brother and niece, as well as Doron Brazili, head of the Israel Bar Association, who sponsored a one-hour strike between 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Wednesday to protest the murder.

Brazili noted that this was not the first time an Israeli lawyer had been murdered, and deemed the killing “a severe blow to democracy and the rule of law.” 

Indeed, following the funeral Ofir and another close friend of Yamit’s expressed anger over the murderers.

“He deserves to die,” said Ofir. “If there was a death penalty [in Israel], this is the case to use it. The only reason not to kill him is so he won’t be with them in the sky.”

To this, Dikla Moyal, who accompanied Ofir, replied, “But he won’t be in heaven – he’ll be in hell.”

“We hope the murderer will pay his debt,” Moyal added.

Of the murders, Ofir said he was dismayed to learn that his friend’s killer intends to plead insanity, potentially sparing him life imprisonment.

“He will now claim that he was insane when he did it – that he ‘lost control,’ and instead of prison will go to a mental hospital,” he said. “He should be dead. We don’t need him in society – people who kill an angel on earth deserve to die.”

Yamit’s closest friend, Galit Yishui, said the two spoke on the phone every morning at 7:30 a.m., during which time Yamit always inspired her.

“She was incredible,” said Yishui. “She inspired me by giving me strength – telling me that life was good and that we have the power to live happy lives.”

Yishui’s younger sister, Ravital, could not hold back her tears.

“She was an angel,” she said. “In life or death.” 

Ofir said just two hours before being murdered, Yamit wrote “Morning of new beginnings” as her “status” on her Facebook page.

“She was a very positive person,” said Ofir. “People always say nice things about people who die, but she was almost perfect. She had a big heart and looked like an angel, and now she is an angel in the sky.”

According to Yamit’s friends, she was very close to both her parents and enjoyed working at her father’s law firm.  They said she was excited to take the Bar exam in six months.

The victims’ mother was notified of the murders while abroad and flew back to Israel Tuesday evening to attend the funeral.

“Yamit loved her mother, father and brother and sister so much,” said Moyal. “She was very family-oriented and always talked about them with great love. She came from a beautiful and loving family.”

This is the second instance in a little over a month in which a Jerusalem security guard committed murder, and the latest in a spate of shootings carried out by private guards and former guards with gun licenses.

Tadesse was employed by the same private security firm as Hadi Kabalan, a Druse security guard who on June 21 was charged with the premeditated murder of Doron Ben-Shlush, a Jewish worshiper who was shot 14 times at the Western Wall Plaza.