On August 10, 2005, 18‑year‑old Aliza “Lizzy” Parsy’s life was cut brutally short in the quiet Willowbrook neighborhood of Staten Island. After returning home from work that evening, her mother discovered the house ransacked and her daughter’s locked bedroom ajar. Inside, Aliza lay dead under a mattress, naked with a pillow covering her face. There were no signs of forced entry and no missing valuables, making a simple burglary unlikely. Detectives immediately sensed something was terribly wrong – the scene seemed staged, as if someone knew Aliza well. This shocking discovery would spark a complex investigation into her secret life, revealing family betrayal, internet romance, and a killer hiding in plain sight.
The Young Victim and Her Secret Life
Aliza Parsy was a recent high-school graduate with big dreams. She worked nights at a Staten Island moving company to save money for college and aspired to move to Manhattan to pursue a career in fashion design. A devout Orthodox Jew, Lizzy lived at home with her immigrant mother, Sima (Simha) Parsy, while her father and one half-brother (Leo) lived in Israel. Friends describe Aliza as cheerful and stylish – “a deeply religious teen who spoke Hebrew, loved fashion and enjoyed putting makeup on her friends,” and who always had “her whole life ahead of her”.
However, beneath the surface was a secret: Aliza had been meeting men from outside her community via the internet. Private messages on several dating sites showed she arranged illicit meetups with men while her mother was at work. To her family this was a shock: they had no idea Lizzy was dating anyone outside the Orthodox faith, let alone secretly inviting strangers into their home.
Crime Scene Clues and Initial Investigations
When investigators searched the Parsy residence, the scene offered mixed signals. On one hand, the back door had been left unlocked as if intentionally, and no sign of forced entry was found. On the other, the entire first floor was trashed – cabinets were open, papers strewn about – a staged burglary to cover up the crime. Neighbors reported nothing unusual, and officers noted Aliza’s hair was still wet, suggesting she had just showered. Inside her locked bedroom, they found Aliza’s limp body on the bed with a pillow pressed over her nose and mouth. The medical examiner quickly ruled her death a homicide by asphyxiation – her nose and mouth were compressed and her neck was in a high-compression position. Remarkably, nothing valuable had been taken (except possibly a small amount of cash), and there were no obvious wounds or bruises on Lizzy. All of this suggested the killer knew Lizzy – most likely someone she trusted.
- Unlocked door, staged burglary: The back door was found open, as if the intruder left in a hurry, yet nothing major was stolen.
- Hidden body: Aliza’s body was concealed under the mattress with a pillowcase over her head, evidence that the killer had time to cover up the scene.
- Minimal struggle: There were no signs of a violent break-in or a struggle in the bedroom, aside from the asphyxiation. Tiny specks of blood on the pillow hinted at a fatal scuffle.
These clues – a staged burglary and a hidden body – led detectives to suspect the murderer was someone inside Lizzy’s inner circle rather than a random burglar.
Family Interviews and False Leads
Detectives first interviewed Lizzy’s family for clues. Her mother Sima insisted she had been at work all afternoon, while 27-year-old half-brother Raviv Gabbay claimed he spent the day on Long Island delivering goods for the family’s kosher cookie business. Both were swabbed for DNA “like others” at the scene. When asked if anyone might wish Lizzy harm, Raviv immediately pointed police toward Aliza’s ex-boyfriend, Hassan, a Muslim man her family had never approved of. (Another sibling and Lizzy’s father lived in Israel and were not local suspects.) Investigators interviewed Hassan, who admitted he and Aliza had an “on-again, off-again” relationship but claimed he was out of her life. He provided an alibi and consented to a DNA test.
Meanwhile, detectives dug deeper into Aliza’s social life. Lizzy’s closest friends revealed that she frequented internet chat rooms and dating sites, often meeting young men outside the Orthodox community. One friend recalled Lizzy joking about her secret online meetups. Police retrieved Lizzy’s computer and had cybercrime experts comb through her messages. A chat history from August 9 (one day before the murder) showed Aliza had arranged a tryst with a man named Jonathan, asking him to sneak in through the back door while her mother was at work.
At this point, multiple suspects were in play: Hassan the ex-boyfriend, Jonathan the internet date, even random burglars or landscapers next door (who had denied involvement). But without a clear motive or evidence, the case remained unsolved – until the lab results started coming in.
DNA Breakthrough and the Real Killer Revealed
The key turned out to be the DNA left at the scene. Analysts found a small droplet of blood on the pillow covering Aliza’s face, plus traces under her fingernails. These samples had to be matched. Meanwhile, Jonathan (from the August 9 date) told police he had consensual sex with Aliza at her house and then left; he provided a DNA sample and investigators confirmed his story with phone and transit records. At this point he seemed innocent.
Then, in mid-September 2005, forensic testing delivered the bombshell: the blood on the pillow and the skin cells under Aliza’s nails matched a close male relative. The investigators immediately realized the only local relatives were her half-brothers. A follow-up analysis found a nearly perfect match to Raviv Gabbay. In other words, Raviv – the very man who’d pointed the finger at Hassan – was hiding the truth. Detective Kenny later said Raviv had been “pointing us at the ex-boyfriend in order to deflect attention from himself”.
Armed with the DNA evidence, police traced Raviv’s movements on August 10 using bridge cameras and toll records. He had claimed to be hours away on Long Island, but records placed him near his mother’s Staten Island home at the time of Lizzy’s murder. On September 19, 2005, Raviv Gabbay was brought in for questioning. After hours of denials, he finally broke down and confessed. Raviv admitted that he had decided to rob the house that day to steal money his mother had obtained from a divorce settlement. He assumed both women were away: he came in through the back door, intending only to gather cash. He did not expect to find Aliza there. When Lizzy returned early and caught him rummaging, Raviv panicked. He grabbed the nearest pillow and pressed it over her face. In a scuffle, he wrestled her down and held the pillow tightly. Lizzy clawed at him in fear, but after a few desperate minutes she went limp. Raviv, shocked by what he’d done, panicked. He dragged Aliza under the mattress and fled the scene.
Guilty Plea and Aftermath
The next day, Raviv was charged with Aliza’s murder. The evidence was overwhelming. At trial in 2006, he pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter, admitting the fatal confrontation was his fault. In court papers he lamented, “I never meant for things to turn out like this.” The judge sentenced him to 18 years in prison. The case made headlines across New York, especially because it shattered the community’s trust – the killer had turned out to be a family member.
Meanwhile, Aliza Parsy’s family struggled to grieve. Her body was flown to Jerusalem and she was buried according to Jewish custom, just days after her death. A Shiva was held at the family home on Staten Island, where Sima Parsy and other relatives mourned the loss of the bright young girl they once knew.
This tragic story is a stark reminder that the most dangerous secrets can live under the same roof. Thanks to DNA and thorough detective work, Lizzy’s killer was brought to justice — even if it came too late for her. For more in-depth true crime stories and analysis like this one, subscribe to our blog and share your thoughts below.