Shay Salami set his wife Yafit on fire - while their children slept next door

The Lod District Court (Wednesday) convicted Shay Salami of murdering his wife, Yafit Purian z"l, setting her body ablaze, and attempting to burn down the family home in Rehovot on the night of Rosh Hashanah 2022. The ruling came after a particularly severe indictment that detailed a history of abuse, jealousy, arson, and attempts to cover up evidence—all while the couple’s four young children, including a nine-month-old baby, were present in the home.

According to the indictment, Salami stabbed his wife at least ten times in her upper body while she was in the bedroom, then set her body and parts of the apartment on fire. It was determined that Salami attempted to stage a self-inflicted injury to portray himself as a victim, but the evidence pointed to premeditation, a clear motive, and deliberate efforts to obscure the crime.

The investigation revealed that the motive for the murder was Yafit’s desire to separate from her husband, and that a few days before the act, Salami discovered messages between her and another man. Shortly afterward, he wrote a farewell letter claiming he "could not live without her and the children," before proceeding to carry out the murder. Salami himself was injured during the murder and arson, and only about 40 days after the incident, once he recovered from his injuries, was he first interrogated.

Yafit’s family members, present in the courtroom this morning, did not hide their intense emotions. A letter sent by the family before the verdict was revealed: "Yafit, 31 at the time of her death, was murdered with cruelty in their home, the place that was supposed to be the safest for her. Her young children were there while their father murdered their mother. The youngest was only nine months old, the eldest seven. The murderer burned part of the house and staged a self-inflicted injury. This wasn’t a whim or a moment of lost control, it was murder under aggravated circumstances. We demand the maximum penalty, life imprisonment without leniency or reductions."

In an interview given by Yafit’s three brothers, Lior, Yaniv, and Liron, shortly after their sister’s murder, they described the unrelenting shock since that horrific night. "We told the children there was a fire, that their father was in the hospital. Only gradually did they begin to understand the truth," Lior recounted. "Today, we’re raising them together, providing them with everything they need. They’ve been through a disaster, and we must ensure they receive love and security."

Yafit Porian left behind a shattered family and a stunned community. Since the murder, her family has called for legislative changes and increased enforcement against violent men. "Murderers of women need to know: there’s no forgiveness and no discounts. Only one punishment: life imprisonment," they emphasized today.

Channel 12 contributed to this article.