The owners of the establishment were also stabbed, but they survived.
“There is no apparent motive. It was not a robbery, not a rape,” Rosenthal said. “The people didn’t know each other. It appears that he killed for the experience of doing it.”
Rosenthal declined to say whether Goldberg, who had been enrolled in the University of Houston, had a previous police record.
Goldberg is thought to have fled last month.
Though there are rumors that he has made it to Israel, officials there told Rosenthal that Goldberg was not in the country. His father, Isaac Goldberg, lives in Houston; his grandparents live in Israel.
The Israelis are cooperating with Harris County officials, Rosenthal said, adding, “There’s not much they can do if he is not there.”
If convicted, Goldberg faces a life sentence. Although Texas has the death penalty, this is not a capital case, Rosenthal said.
In another development, Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), said he will ask Secretary of State Madeleine Albright to apply diplomatic pressure to help locate Goldberg.
“I want to bring every pressure possible, whether it’s political, diplomatic, or financial pressure, to make sure there is no hiding place for suspects anywhere on the globe,” Brady told the Houston Chronicle.
Brady also said he would introduce legislation requiring that extradition treaties be changed so other nations cannot harbor suspects wanted for crimes in the United States.