Jason Odeh, who murdered 27-year-old Yelena Gerenberg in 2022 after she rejected his attempts to turn their friendship into a romantic relationship, was sentenced Wednesday to mandatory life imprisonment by the Central District Court in Lod.
The two had been friends for about four years. During that time, Odeh repeatedly sought a romantic relationship with Gerenberg, but she refused. After she rejected him, the court found, Odeh decided to murder her and burn her body.
The court said Odeh attacked Gerenberg inside his car and stabbed her more than 10 times with a knife he had bought and prepared in advance. He then drove her body to an isolated area and poured gasoline over it but ultimately did not set it alight.
On his way home, Odeh discarded both their phones. The court said he also disposed of Gerenberg’s bag and computer, which were never recovered.
Odeh was also ordered to pay Gerenberg’s heirs NIS 258,000, the maximum compensation available in criminal proceedings. His life sentence will be counted from his arrest on August 25, 2022.
'Cruel and premeditated murder of a woman'
Odeh was unanimously convicted in July of aggravated murder, following a trial. He admitted killing Gerenberg but denied that it amounted to aggravated murder, claiming that he had acted spontaneously after alleged provocation and while in a disturbed mental state.
The three-judge panel rejected his account and found that he had planned the murder in advance.
“The defendant brutally cut short the life of Yelena Gerenberg, a 27-year-old woman whose whole future lay ahead of her,” the court said in its sentencing decision.
The judges found that Odeh murdered Gerenberg solely because she did not reciprocate his advances and he felt rejected and frustrated. They also noted that when Odeh addressed the court before sentencing, he expressed no remorse or sorrow for his actions.
Gerenberg’s mother, Tatiana, told the court that her daughter loved nature and animals and wanted to make the world a better place. Gerenberg had completed a bachelor’s degree at the Peres Academic Center, but her certificate of excellence was received only after her death.
“The court today imposed a life sentence on the defendant, the mandatory punishment for the cruel and premeditated murder of a woman whose only ‘offense’ was refusing to have a romantic relationship with him,” prosecutors said, following the sentencing.
Attorney Rotem Aloni, who represents Gerenberg’s family through the Justice Ministry’s Legal Aid Department, said the family had waited four years for the sentence.
“The family will now have to find the strength to move forward, alongside the memory of and longing for Yelena,” she said.