Daniel Maoz, Israeli man convicted of murdering parents, gets two life sentences

A man was found guilty on Monday of brutally stabbing and killing his parents at their Jerusalem home, and was sentenced to two consecutive life terms.

The Jerusalem District Court convicted Daniel Maoz on all the charges brought against him, including two counts of murder and destruction of evidence.

"The defendant stabbed his parents dozens of times with a knife all over their bodies, over and over, as they tried to resist him until they died," wrote the judges in the case, Zvi Segal, Moshe Drori and Ben-Zion Greenberg. "The defendant did not find that sufficient, and made an attempt to cover his tracks soon after the murder."

The judges compared the events that unfolded to "a horror film" as they noted that Maoz demonstrated no remorse for his actions.

"At the very least, the defendant should have felt the requisite pain, guilt and remorse. Alas, the defendant did not regret his actions, and tried to slander his twin brother – a claim that was dismissed out of hand."

Maoz, for his part, continued to maintain innocence.

"I did not murder my parents, may they rest in peace," he said in court Monday. "My parents deserve the truth to come out.

"The killer is sitting in the third row," he continued, referring to his brother, Nir Maoz. "He killed my parents."

On August 14, 2011, the bodies of Noah and Nurit Maoz, both in the 60s, were found brutally stabbed in their Ramot neighborhood home. Their son, Daniel Maoz, was arrested in connection with their deaths in Tel Aviv nearly a month later, and was charged with murder.

Police said Maoz, a softwared engineer, was entangled in heavy gambling debts and murdered his parents in a bid to get their inheritance.

According to the indictment, Maoz stabbed his parents dozens of times and later returned to their home to get rid of the evidence. The investigation found that prior to the rampage, Maoz visited websites dealing with murdering parents and covering tracks.

Maoz's trial was fraught with legal and family drama. At first Maoz claimed that he knew nothing of the attack, but later went on to say he was at the apartment during the stabbing, hiding and fighting the assailant. In another testimony he tried to level accusations at his twin.