S. Whitehall Doctor Charged With Trying to Kill Son-in-law in Ohio

A South Whitehall Township doctor was indicted by a grand jury Wednesday morning on charges he attempted to kill his son-in-law in suburban Cleveland, according to the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office.

Dr. Georges J. Bensimhon, 66, an anesthesiologist who lives in the 1400 block of Shelburne Court, was indicted on one count of attempted aggravated murder, one count of attempted murder, two counts of kidnapping, and two counts of felonious assault, the prosecutor's office said.

Bensimhon, who was released on $500,000 bond, is scheduled to have a preliminary hearing Thursday in Cleveland Heights Municipal Court. Bensimhon, who was born in Morocco, surrendered his U.S. and Israeli passports, the prosecutor's office said.

Bensimhon worked at Coordinated Health in South Whitehall and Bethlehem for several years but was terminated Wednesday, a spokesman said. 

On Sept. 4, according to the Cleveland Heights Police Department, Bensimhon -- dressed in black and wearing a black tactical mask and purple surgical gloves -- allegedly hid in some bushes outside the home of his estranged son-in-law, Dr. Seth Alan Hoffer, a Cleveland neurosurgeon. 

When Hoffer, 39, walked outside his back door shortly before 6 a.m., Bensimhon allegedly jumped out of the bushes and attacked him with a 12-inch metal pry bar wrapped in athletic tape with a one-inch sharp point, police said.

After a bloody struggle, Hoffer managed to gain control of Bensimhon and was sitting on top of his back restraining him when officers arrived, police said.

According to police, investigators found a blue backpack that belonged to Bensimhon hidden in the bushes that contained injectable sedatives and spinal syringes. A bible was among the items seized from Bensimhon, police said.

When police asked Bensimhon where his car was, he told them it was parked nearby at a library and that it belonged to Kenneth Patton, whom police later said lives in the 1300 block of Devon Circle in South Whitehall.

Bensimhon’s daughter, Danielle, who is estranged from her husband and lives in West Palm Beach, Fla., is involved in a custody battle with Hoffer over their 2-year-old daughter, according to the Cleveland Jewish News. The morning of the attack, Hoffer was loading his car to pick up his daughter in Florida, police said.

The couple are scheduled to begin their contested divorce trial Sept. 30, according to a report in The Crime Beat.

Hoffer's father, Dr. Barry Hoffer, told police there had been "several incidents and problems between Seth and Georges in the past, including threats," according to police reports.