"Why can’t I just divorce my son's killer?" Doron Hess battles bureaucracy after chilling child murder case

His first step: divorcing his wife, Sigal Itzkovitz, the primary suspect in their son’s killing. But what he assumed would be a straightforward process has turned into a frustrating fight against Israel’s religious and legal establishment. “I absolutely can’t face her in a hearing,” Hess says, bewildered by the obstacles he’s encountering.

The tragedy that shook Israel unfolded in Herzliya, where Liam was found lifeless in his home, allegedly killed by Sigal, 33. Since then, Doron has been grappling with loss while launching a crowdfunding project to regain stability. Yet, his attempts to secure a divorce—a basic step to move forward—have been stymied by what he calls an ill-equipped system. “The first thing I want is simple: to get divorced and move on,” he told reporters. “At my first hearing two months ago with my father, I felt the rabbinical judges didn’t even know my story—only the court typist had heard of it. They didn’t grasp the magnitude of this. They just said she needs to be present or agree to accept the get [divorce document] some other way.”

Under Jewish law in Israel, a husband must grant a get, and the wife must consent to receive it—a process Hess finds absurd given the circumstances. “It’s insane I have to go through this,” he said. “I’d expect in my case they’d grant it automatically or find a quick solution to spare me more pain on top of losing my beloved son and our dear dog.”

Moran Brik-Miller, Hess’s attorney from the Justice Ministry’s legal aid, explained the legal bind: “In Israel, the husband gives the get, and the wife must agree to take it. In rare cases, if one party can’t attend, it can be delivered via a proxy. Here, her legal competency is a hurdle due to the psychiatric evaluation from her criminal case. Given the sensitivity, we need a creative fix to expedite this for Doron.” She hopes the rabbinical court will adapt to the case’s unique tragedy.

The Rabbinical Courts Administration responded: “We strive to finalize divorces swiftly, especially in sensitive cases like Doron’s. But with her ongoing criminal case and psychiatric assessment, her mental state affects the get process. Once the evaluation is complete, we can proceed promptly.” For Hess, though, each delay deepens the wound of a system that seems deaf to his plea: “Why can’t I just divorce her and be done?”