On Chanukah as we celebrate the miracle of both revealed and hidden light, the family of Rabbi Joseph Raksin has merited the miracle of closure: an arrest in the murder of their loved one.
The Miami Jewish community saw that which was hidden become revealed when police arrested a suspect in the murder of Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Yosef Raksin of Crown Heights, Brooklyn.
The rabbi was attacked while visiting his granddaughter in the South Florida Jewish community. Hundreds attended his funeral in New York, and the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s office vowed never to give up on his case.
Miami Jewish community members also had posted a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the suspect or suspects who attacked the rabbi.
Now, as his family celebrates the miracles of the Festival of Light, their own closure is becoming a reality with the arrest of 15-year-old Deandre Edwin Charles after a 16-month-long investigation.
The teen allegedly encountered the rabbi as he walked to synagogue on the Sabbath morning of August 9 after a robbery spree, while Charles was age 14.
The rabbi carried no money, in accordance with Jewish customs on the Sabbath; Charles left the scene empty-handed after allegedly shooting Raksin to death.
The teen was cuffed on Wednesday and was indicted by a grand jury on a charge of first-degree murder, which means he will be tried as an adult, 7News reported.