The Oktyabrsky District Court of St. Petersburg granted the investigation's request for the detention of Oleg Sokolov, associate professor of St. Petersburg State University, for two months. He is accused of killing graduate student Anastasia Yeshchenko. As follows from the testimony of the man himself, he shot four times at a girl from a sawn-off shotgun of a small-caliber rifle.
“The court ordered Sokolov Oleg Valerievich to choose a preventive measure in the form of detention for two months - until January 8, 2020,” the judge conveys the words of Yulia Maksimenko TASS.
At the same time, before the start of the meeting, lawyer Alexander Pochuev stated that the defense insists on house arrest.
“Oleg Valeryevich himself insists on choosing a preventive measure in the form of arrest, detention. But we (the defense side. - RT ) believe that house arrest is quite acceptable, ”the lawyer explained.
He also noted Sokolov is in satisfactory condition, while the man is morally depressed, which complicates his interaction with the defense. According to him, in the case you can expect "a lot of skeletons in the closet."
During the meeting, Sokolov spoke about the reasons for the crime he committed. He admitted that he killed the girl on the basis of a personal conflict - allegedly Yeshchenko “began to freak at the mention of his children.” Moreover, according to the accused, he loved Anastasia and was going to marry her.
“In my life, when nothing of the kind came close to me. I don’t understand how it could be. The girl, who seemed to me an ideal, gradually turned into a creature from a terrible tale. This is the reason, ”Sokolov said.
To gallery page
On Saturday, November 9, in front of one of the houses along the Moika embankment, a man was taken from the water, carrying a backpack, inside which were “two severed female hands, as well as a traumatic gun”. Investigators opened a criminal case under part 1 of art. 105 of the Criminal Code of Russia (“Murder”). As TASS later reported, citing a law enforcement source, the girl was allegedly shot dead on November 7 during a quarrel.
The alleged killer turned out to be Oleg Sokolov, candidate of historical sciences, associate professor of the Department of Modern and Contemporary History of the Institute of History of St. Petersburg State University. On November 10, the man pleaded guilty to a crime during interrogation in the Investigative Committee, the lawyer of the accused said.
Sokolov’s victim was Anastasia Yeshchenko, a graduate of St. Petersburg State University. According to the representative of the city committee on law and order, divers continue to search for the remains of the girl. Moreover, according to unconfirmed reports, in the course of the work, fragments of the body were found that did not belong to Yeshenko.
“Now 11 rescue workers are working on the spot. We plan to survey the bottom of the Sink, meter by meter. But we do not know how tightly tied packages with fragments of the body. If air got into them, then they could be carried away by the surface current and wind up to the Gulf of Finland, ”explained the representative of the search and rescue service of St. Petersburg.
- Reuters
- © Anton Vaganov
The Monstrous Act of Madness
According to the press secretary of Russian President Dmitry Peskov, the incident in St. Petersburg is a "monstrous act of insanity." He also added that Vladimir Putin was informed about the incident.
“Certainly, the motives of this monstrous crime, which, of course, could not but touch literally everyone who knows about it, the causes of the crime and so on will be established during the investigation,” RIA Novosti quotes Peskova.
He also noted that it would be possible to talk about “who can have at least some relation to this monstrous act of insanity”. However, according to the presidential spokesman, it would be strange to blame someone other than the killer himself, "when everything looks very much like pure madness."
As the deputy head of the Kalinin district of the Kuban, Sergei Rubtsov, said, while studying at school, the deceased was an “excellent student and activist”, completing an educational institution with a gold medal.
“Everything is terrified. In our village ... We haven’t such a thing as we live. Everything is in shock, ”RIA Novosti quoted an official as saying.
According to the brother of the murdered, Sergei Yeshchenko, the girl was in a romantic relationship with a historian. The day before, the mother and father of the deceased, Galina and Oleg Yeshchenko, arrived in St. Petersburg. They criticized the defendant’s defense version, according to which their daughter could have a “psychological effect” on Sokolov.
“On the day of the murder, Anastasia really worked in the archives. This is easy to verify. Therefore, there can be no talk of any effect whatsoever. A person is sane, kills, dismembers the body, hides it, ”REN TV quotes Galina Yeshchenko.
According to Abdullah Daudov, director of the Institute of History of St. Petersburg State University, where Sokolov worked, the teacher never received complaints from either colleagues or students. He also named the deceased Sokolov's civil wife.
“About 10 days ago she was in my working group for translating from French into Russian, we talked, everything was as usual. She was, as far as we all know, a common-law wife, they lived together, as far as I know, for three years, ”Daudova quotes TASS.