Man indicted for murder of autistic adopted son

Shai Blum, 55, suspected of taking Omri, 23, to woods outside their Maccabim home and shooting him nine times, stabbing him twice; police reject claim of self-defense

Prosecutors filed a murder indictment Thursday against a man accused of shooting and stabbing his adult son, who was on the autism spectrum.

Shay Blum, 55, was charged at the Central District Court with the premeditated murder of his  adopted son Omri, 23.

According to the indictment, on July 14 this year Blum shot Omri nine times with a pistol and then stabbed him in the chest twice, piercing his heart.

Blum claims he acted in self-defense. A police source, speaking anonymously to media, cast doubt on that version of events.

Prosecutors asked that Blum be held until the end of proceedings

The indictment showed that Omri was born with fetal alcohol syndrome and was diagnosed as having autism. Blum and his wife adopted Omri 22 years ago and raised him in their home. In 2019 they became his court-appointed guardians, but at the beginning of July this year they began preparing a request to cancel the order due to their difficulty in dealing with Omri’s behavior. Since 2019, Omri lived in a hostel for autistic people, occasionally leaving to visit the family home.

On two occasions in June Omri left the hostel and his whereabouts were temporarily unknown. On July 14, he left again with some friends but their car broke down outside Jerusalem. The group called police for assistance and officers contacted Omri’s parents, who at first refused to allow him into their home, but eventually relented.

When Omri arrived home, Blum asked to have a conversation with him in the nearby woods, prosecutors said. The pair went together to the site, Blume bringing his licensed pistol with him, while Omri brought a knife, which he apparently took from the Blum home.

In the woods, there was an exchange between the two and then Blum pulled out the pistol and shot Omri nine times, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said that at some point during the altercation, Omri had the knife in his hand, and Blum allegedly took the knife from Omri and stabbed him twice in the chest, piercing his heart. He then called police.

A police source told media that Omri had seven gunshot wounds in his chest, one in his chin, and another in his back, as well as two knife wounds.

“You cannot claim self-defense,” the source said. “The victim was found exactly as you see in the movies, with a knife in the chest.”

Last month Omri’s biological mother spoke to the Walla news outlet, saying that her son had been subjected to verbal abuse from Blum.

The woman said that when she was pregnant with Omri she was addicted to drugs and he was taken into child protective care following the birth. After Omri was adopted, she was no longer permitted to see him. She eventually recovered from her drug addiction but was only allowed to see Omri after he turned 18.

“During our meetings, I began to see the father’s hatred toward the child,” she claimed. “I saw the father’s bullying and all the abuse. For every little thing the boy did, the boy would receive punishments from the father.”