A father in Israel was indicted on Sunday by prosecutors who believe he stabbed his teenage daughter to death because she was dating a Muslim man.

Sami Kara, 58, is accused of killing Henriette Kara, 17, by stabbing her in the neck after he found out she planned on converting to Islam, reported The Jerusalem Post.

Henriette, 17, was found stabbed to death in her family’s home in the central town of Ramle in June. Henriette’s death occurred just a day after she graduated from high school.

According to the indictment, Henriette, an Israeli- Arab Christian, was in a relationship with a Muslim man for over a year, although her parents displayed “vehement opposition.”

In one incident in early June, Sami allegedly beat Henriette and threatened her, stating, “I would spend my whole life in jail. I don’t care.”
Later in the month, Henriette told a family member she deposited money in a prison canteen for her Muslim boyfriend, who was in jail. She also said she planned on converting to Islam once he got out of jail. After Sami was made aware of her plan, Henriette was killed shortly after.

“The defendant decided to cause the death of the deceased and in order to realize his goal he was equipped with a knife. The defendant stabbed the deceased three times, causing her death on the spot,” the indictment said.
The prosecution cites circumstantial evidence in the indictment including text messages she sent a friend.
“You won’t believe what they did to me... They are sending people to kill me,” one message read.
“They are searching for me in every possible place,” another message said, “You don’t understand what fear this is. I don’t believe I have the strength to stand on my feet and run away.”
Attorneys Shukri Abu Tabik and Giora Zilberstein, who represent the defendant, said that their client is not guilty and criticized the prosecution’s evidence.

“The police arrested three members of her family: Sami, her uncle, and brother, held them for a long time in detention, and the fact that the police today could not bring charges against others shows that they are trying to patch together an indictment against Sami. There is no direct evidence that he participated in the murder and no forensic evidence. His shirt was sent to the forensic unit to search for blood remains, and the answer is unequivocal: The murder weapon was not caught, the police are trying very artificially to indict him, and I am sure that he will eventually be acquitted,” they said.