'The Motive': 35 years later, Jerusalem family massacre yet to be solved

At just 14 years of age, a young boy shoots his entire family without batting an eyelid. What drove him to this madness?
A still from the trailer of 'The Motive' (YouTube)
A still from the trailer of 'The Motive' (YouTube)

Trigger Warning: Graphic content 

In 1968, on an unfortunate Friday night in Jerusalem, a 14-year-old Israeli boy murdered his parents and sisters in their sleep, with his father's rifle, point-blank, and no questions asked. He then quickly changed his clothes and ran over to the neighbor's house. 

Since the boy was a minor at the time he committed the crime, he was sent to a children's home to be detained for six years. When lawyers and the police dived in to investigate, the boy admitted that a green monster of some sort had entered his mind and ordered him to massacre his entire family. To this day, 35 years later, we're yet to know what his motive really was.

RELATED ARTICLES

Who is Brandon Curtis? Texas father-of-five shot dead after confronting teen boy for cyberbullying daughter

Maine woman shot and killed by longtime partner in murder-suicide 3 years after her parents died the same way

Now a grown man with a family of his own, the murderer walks a free man, although his name and identity are still unknown to the media and the public, for obvious reasons.

The creators of the documentary, Tali Shemesh and Asaf Sudri, interviewed the murderer's lawyer, Yossi Arnon, who eventually spoke about his perspective about the uneventful happenings. According to Arnon, he admitted that the boy lied and made up a fake story about the green monster, adding a lot more mystery into the case that's yet to be solved.

'The Motive' is a four-part documentary created in the hopes of digging into and finding out a little more about what was going through the boy's mind when he killed his family, in the blink of an eye. And to think, he was known for his kind, composed, and brilliant nature. What went wrong?

A similar case took place in the 2000s, in the state of Bihar in India. Amarjeet Sada, an eight-year-old boy, became the world's youngest serial killer after murdering his cousin of six years (in 2006), his baby sister who was eight months old at the time, and his neighbor's infant. 

In accordance with the Indan law, a child cannot be sent to prison, no matter what crime they commit. And so, Sada was sent to a children's home to be detained till he turned 18, in the town of Munger. Today, he no longer goes by the same name and lives somewhere unknown with a different identity. 

'The Motive' is set to drop on October 28, on Netflix.

GET THE BIGGEST ENTERTAINMENT STORIES
STRAIGHT TO YOUR INBOX.

MORE STORIES

‘9-1-1’ Season 10 sends the 118 into a volcano emergency as Athena and Buck adjust to new responsibilities.
5 hours ago
Aaron Sorkin shares what keeps 'The West Wing' on his mind, 20 years after the NBC drama ended.
6 hours ago
The 'Friday the 13th' prequel explores Pamela Voorhees’ troubled past, her grief over Jason’s death and the unsettling questions raised.
6 hours ago
Kate Wyler faces another political crisis as power struggles intensify inside the White House, threatening international stability in 'The Diplomat.'
7 hours ago
'9-1-1: Nashville' returns with a new detective, dangerous emergencies and unresolved tensions following the Season 1 finale.
10 hours ago
Lisa’s search for Anna’s killer leads to a confession that raises new questions about her own memories.
10 hours ago
The original series aired from 1993 to 2002, and David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson played the main characters for the first seven seasons
15 hours ago
'VisionQuest' starring Paul Bettany streams new episodes every Tuesday on Disney+
17 hours ago
TV series ‘Girls’, starring Lena Dunham, aired from 2012 to 2017 and ran for six seasons on HBO
19 hours ago
Season 24 of ‘NCIS’, starring Sean Murray, airs every Tuesday at 8:00 PM ET/PT on CBS.
20 hours ago