Bulletin: Roman Zadarov: Israel: Times of Israel story provides more information about the forensic issues in the case: "Much of the debate over the conviction focused on the type of knife used — the murder weapon was never found — and a bloody footprint found on Rada’s jeans. In his confession Zadorov said he cut Tada with a box cutter — which has a smooth blade — whereas a forensic expert testified that wounds on the victim’s chin were caused by a serrated blade. He maintains that his confession was coerced. In 2013 the Supreme Court instructed that the case be returned to the Nazareth District Court for review in order to hear two experts’ testimonies related to the evidence in the case, as requested by Zadorov’s lawyers. The first witness was William Bodziak, a world-renowned forensics expert, who testified that marks on the murdered girl’s jeans were not in fact a bloody footprint initially believed to have been left by Zadorov’s boot. Dr. Maya Forman-Reznik, a pathologist, testified the cuts on Rada’s neck and the trauma injuries to her head were likely caused by a serrated blade." Times of Israel;
"Rada’s gruesome murder shocked the country in
2006. The eighth-grade student was found dead in a bathroom stall in her
school, with slashes to her neck, stab wounds across her body, and
severe blows to her head. Zadorov, who worked as a maintenance man at
the school at the time, was arrested and charged with the killing. In
2010, nearly four years after he was first arrested, the Nazareth
District Court sentenced him to life in prison for the murder. Much of the debate over the conviction focused
on the type of knife used — the murder weapon was never found — and a
bloody footprint found on Rada’s jeans. In his confession Zadorov said he cut Tada
with a box cutter — which has a smooth blade — whereas a forensic expert
testified that wounds on the victim’s chin were caused by a serrated
blade. He maintains that his confession was coerced. In 2013 the Supreme Court instructed that the
case be returned to the Nazareth District Court for review in order to
hear two experts’ testimonies related to the evidence in the case, as
requested by Zadorov’s lawyers. The first witness was William Bodziak, a
world-renowned forensics expert, who testified that marks on the
murdered girl’s jeans were not in fact a bloody footprint initially
believed to have been left by Zadorov’s boot. Dr. Maya Forman-Reznik, a
pathologist, testified the cuts on Rada’s neck and the trauma injuries
to her head were likely caused by a serrated blade. However, despite the expert opinions, the
Nazareth District Court upheld the conviction at the time, after which
Zadorov appealed to the Supreme Court. In their Wednesday ruling, Amit and Zilbertal
both accepted that the blade used was likely serrated, but concluded
that the discrepancy was not enough to overturn the conviction. Amit
noted that Zadorov had a large collection of knives in his home and a
computer disk full of videos on how to use them."