Samuel Sheinbein

Samuel Sheinbein (1980 – February 23, 2014) was an American-Israeli convicted murderer. On September 16, 1997, Sheinbein and a former classmate, Aaron Benjamin Needle, at the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, killed Alfredo Enrique Tello, Jr. then dismembered and burned his body in Aspen Hill, Maryland. Sheinbein fled to Israel, where he was eligible for citizenship, and managed to avoid extradition to the United States based on an Israeli law prohibiting extradition of Israeli nationals. Sheinbein, whose case strained US-Israeli relations, was sentenced to 24 years in prison by an Israeli court. Sheinbein's case prompted an overhaul of Israeli extradition law.

In 2014, Sheinbein was killed in a firefight with police after he opened fire on guards and engaged in a standoff with authorities.

Motive

 At age 17, Sheinbein informed a friend that he offered $5,000 for someone to kill the boyfriend of his crush and $1,000 for someone to lure his rival into a vehicle. Sheinbein sought someone to murder as practice for his intended target, according to Montgomery County State's Attorney, John McCarthy.

Around the same time Sheinbein was planning to murder his rival, Needle and Tello became acquainted. Needle was introduced to his fellow Montgomery College classmate, and friend of Tello, Hannah Choi.

In September 1997, Needle had gotten into an altercation with Tello in which Tello had punched Needle in front of Choi (Needle thought Choi was attractive). Choi told police that Needle appeared to be embarrassed and immediately called his friend Sam. According to McCarthy, this event led to Needle giving Sheinbein his practice victim.

Murder of Tello

Sheinbein created what prosecutors called a "Recipe for Murder." On a single sheet of notebook paper, Sheinbein wrote "'Zap, pepper, metal restraints, rainsuits . . . X-acto hobby knife, plastic bags' and other items." He also "listed the Dujitsu 2000 knife and had a check mark next to 'recommended by Consumer Reports.'" The piece of paper also listed size 14 shoes (according to McCarthy, both Sheinbein and Needle wore about size 10 shoes) and had written, "If they don't fit, u must acquit", a reference to Johnnie Cochran's famous line in the O.J. Simpson trial.

Police authorities believe that this murder was premeditated by Sheinbein and Needle. Sheinbein and Needle allegedly incapacitated Tello with a stun gun, and then choked and stabbed Tello, finally beating him to death with a sawed-off shotgun. The autopsy reported concluded that the cause of death of the victim was "a combination of blunt force injuries to the head, cutting wounds on the neck and chest, and ligature strangulation." The two murderers then stored the body of Tello in Sheinbein's garage where they mutilated the body by dismembering the victim's limbs and burning the body so that Tello could not be identified as the victim.

Sheinbein had arranged to dispose of the body in a vacant home for sale which was previously owned by his classmate. Sheinbein had told him he wanted to use the vacant residence to bring a girl to for privacy. The classmate told him OK and where the key to the house was hidden.

Authorities believe that Sheinbein and Needle transported the body to the neighborhood residence in a garbage bag in the back of Needle's Honda. The two then allegedly transported their tools of mutilation in a wheelbarrow to the vacant home.

On September 19, 1997, a realtor was preparing the prior neighborhood house residence for a showing and detected a strong odor coming from the garage. The realtor found Tello's body, which was wrapped in garbage bags. The body was so charred and mutilated that it was initially believed to be a deer carcass. The realtor called the Montgomery County Police Department and officers quickly responded to the residence. Investigators determined the contents of the garbage bags were human remains and ruled it as a homicide. Police recovered several items of evidentiary value at the scene of discovery, including the power saw used to dismember the victim.

Investigation

Montgomery County investigators were initially unable to determine the identity of the victim. They began to interview neighbors who reported seeing the suspects. Using police canines, authorities discovered a trail of blood leading from the scene of the body to the garage of the Sheinbein residence.

Subsequent investigation led authorities to rule Sheinbein as a suspect. Based on physical evidence, and eye-witness accounts, Needle was determined to be a second suspect. Warrants for the arrest of Sheinbein, for first-degree murder, and Needle, for first-degree murder, the conspiracy to commit murder, and being an accessory to murder after the fact, were issued shortly thereafter.

On September 22, 1997, Freddy Tello was reported missing by his mother. Police investigation of the missing-persons report revealed that Tello had told friends that he would meet them at the Plaza de Mercado shopping center in Wheaton along with Needle and Sheinbein, but never showed. Dental records of Tello were used by investigators to identify the victim as Alfredo Tello Jr.

According to police reports, the suspects had fled to New York City. Needle's parents ordered him home and on September 23, 1997, Needle was arrested. Needle was held in pre-trial detention, but his arrest never resulted in a trial. While attorneys debated Needle's fitness to stand trial, Needle committed suicide by hanging himself in his jail cell.

Flight to Israel

Sheinbein evaded apprehension by Maryland police, but needed assistance from his parents. Sheinbein fled to Israel with the help of his father, Sol Sheinbein, an attorney who held dual citizenship in the United States and Israel. Sol Sheinbein allegedly brought Samuel his passport, purchased him an airline ticket to Tel Aviv, Israel, and drove him to John F. Kennedy International Airport to flee the United States.

Once in Israel, Samuel Sheinbein applied for and received Israeli citizenship. Being Jewish and as the son of an Israeli national, he was eligible for automatic Israeli citizenship. Sheinbein's brother Robert then flew to Israel and met him in his hotel room, and brought him his first bottle of wine and a prostitute. His partying came to an end when he was hospitalized for a drug overdose. After being hospitalized, Sheinbein was arrested, and US authorities were notified of his presence in Israel.

Extradition fight

After being notified of Sheinbein's presence in Israel, the U.S. government submitted an extradition request. US Secretary of StateMadeleine Albright said that she expected "maximum cooperation" from Israel. The Jerusalem Magistrate Court ruled that Sheinbein should be extradited, ruling that since he had no meaningful connections to the State of Israel, used a U.S. passport, and had never lived in Israel, he was not enough of a citizen to deserve protection under Israeli law. Following an appeal, the Israeli Supreme Court blocked his extradition, citing a 1978 law banning the extradition of Israeli citizens. This resulted in a severe strain in U.S.-Israeli relations and outrage from the Latino-American community. Congress threatened to withhold aid to Israel. There was also concern in Israel over the ruling, including the fear that the country might become a haven for Jewish criminals. Sheinbein was then indicted in Israel. He was charged for murder with intent to kill: the equivalent of first-degree murder in the United States. Sheinbein's trial took place in the Tel Aviv District Court.

Conviction

After Sheinbein accepted a plea bargain with prosecutors, the three-judge panel sentenced him to 24 years in prison, with eligibility for parole after 16 years. Court President Uri Goren read the verdict, stating that "the actual murder, together with the monstrous acts that were committed to the body, show that sanctity of life and a person's dignity both in life and death are values to which the defendant attaches no significance. In light of his age, and in light of the severity of his actions, the defendant therefore deserves a severe and deterring punishment". The sentence, lenient by U.S. standards, combined with the refusal to extradite him, strained American-Israeli relations. Outrage was expressed in both countries, with many editorials in Israel criticizing Sheinbein's manipulation of Israeli law. The Knesset subsequently passed two laws overhauling Israel's extradition policy; a law stipulating that an Israeli citizen must also have a "residential connection" to the country to avoid extradition, and one allowing Israeli citizens to be extradited to face trial abroad on condition they be returned to Israel to serve their sentences.

Sheinbein was sent to Ayalon Prison, an infamous maximum-security prison in Ramla. He was later transferred to Rimonim Prison.

Immediately after Sheinbein left for Israel, Sol Sheinbein sold his house and moved his family to Israel. Shortly after Samuel's arrest, Sol and Robert Sheinbein were also arrested for hampering an investigation, but released shortly afterward.

Sheinbein's family settled in Tel Aviv, where Sol Sheinbein found work as a patent law consultant. Sol Sheinbein was later charged with obstruction of justice. He is wanted on an arrest warrant for hindering or obstructing a police investigation, but due to the crime being a misdemeanor, he cannot be extradited. In 2002, he was disbarred as a lawyer in Maryland, and in 2004, he was disbarred as a lawyer Washington, D.C. by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals. In 2005, he was excluded from practicing before theUnited States Patent and Trademark Office.

Even after Sheinbein's conviction, the state of Maryland maintained a warrant for his arrest, and the United States issued an Interpol warrant for him. If Sheinbein had completed his sentence in Israel and been released, he would have still faced prosecution in the United States if he ever returned there, and faced extradition to the United States if he had traveled to any Interpol member country.

Gun incident

On February 6, 2014, Sheinbein received a furlough from jail. His furloughs had previously been suspended, but were restored after he challenged the denial in court. He proceeded to the city of Ramla where he attempted to buy a gun from a man he had met online who offered him a gun and ammunition. The seller gave him the gun, and on their way to the ammunition store, Sheinbein tried stealing the gun by running out of the car. The seller managed to catch up to him and hold him until police arrived, and Sheinbein was arrested.

Standoff and death

On February 23, 2014, Sheinbein was killed in a shootout in Rimonim Prison. The incident started when Sheinbein, who was being transferred from one cell to another, made a bathroom stop, then pulled out a handgun and shot the two guards who were escorting him, seriously injuring them. He then barricaded himself in the bathroom. A special police unit was then called in, and a standoff ensued, with police attempting to negotiate with Sheinbein. After an hour, Sheinbein opened fire on police taking positions around the room, lightly injuring an officer. Police returned fire, fatally wounding Sheinbein. Despite medical attention, Sheinbein died soon afterward. Authorities are currently investigating the shooting, and it is not yet known how Sheinbein acquired the gun