A Dundee man has told of how his life has become “hell” after his daughter was found dead in Israel.
John Pearson, 69, was born in Jerusalem but moved to Scotland with his parents when he was three.
His daughter Julie had moved back to his homeland to live in the town of Eilat in September 2014.
Julie was found dead in the Red Sea resort, where she had been working on a tour boat, on November 27.
John, who has lived in Dundee for more than 20 years and manages a chain of pubs, told the Tele that he wants “closure” and believes that Julie was murdered.
He said: “Julie was a fun-loving girl. She loved people’s company, she loved karaoke. She just loved being in the sun in Israel. She loved the country.
“As far as we knew she was happy. I met her each year for a month.
“We were together every day, we went to the Red Sea, had breakfast, went shopping to supermarkets — she was happy.
“I couldn’t see what happened coming at all — it was right out of the blue. I felt devastated and I just couldn’t believe it.
“I had been with her just two months before in September.
“Julie was full of life, having a great time and she loved it there.
“She was still constantly trying to get citizenship but it was difficult for her to become a citizen.
“I really thought she would become a citizen by this year and I would be visiting again this year, but that’s not to be.”
John believes that the circumstances surrounding Julie’s death are more sinister.
He said that she was beaten in the days before her death and has criticised the Eilat police and said he thinks they could have prevented her death by taking her to a hospital instead of a friend’s home.
John also rejects the notion that Julie died of natural causes after taking advice from a Scottish forensic expert — and he thinks that the perpetrator of the beating should be charged with Julie’s murder.
He said: “This is hell. I just want closure. I want to know that she was murdered and I want the guy to get sentenced for it.
“They should have taken her to the hospital, that’s the most important thing. The police said they didn’t know her but they had picked her up the night before and taken her to a friend’s house.
“She’d also been stopped in the street months before — there was a record of Julie in the Eilat police station.
“Three days after it happened we got the news. I was at home and my sister phoned me. The whole family is devastated.
“I feel let down by Israel. I go there every year for a month — I volunteered and served in the Israeli army. Julie loved her Israeli heritage.
“It has put me off going again but why should I let it? I love the country, I love the people.
“I’ll go there to visit where Julie died and the police force.
“My sister did it in January and laid flowers at the place where she died — I’ll do the same in September.
“I want the truth. The police have made a mistake — they should have taken her to hospital the day that it happened. It could have been prevented.”
A spokesman for the Eilat police force said: “The case was looked into by the ministry of health who conducted the autopsy and they concluded that the cause of death was medical problems that she had.”