News

A court has recognized the evidence gathered by the Chelyabinsk Region authorities of the Investigative Committee sufficient to convict 37-year-old resident of the town of Kartaly Andrei Zakharchenko. He was found guilty of crimes under Part 2, items “a”, “c” and “f” of Article 105 of the RF Penal Code (murder of two or more people, a minor, committed with heightened cruelty by a generally dangerous way with the purpose to conceal another crime), Part 3 of Article 30, Part 2, item “a” of Article 105 (attempted murder of two people committed with heightened cruelty if the crime has not been finished for the reasons independent of the killer), Part 2 of Article 167 (arson), Part 1 of Article 139 (violation of the inviolability of the home).

The court and investigation have revealed that a fire happened in a single-family house in Pionersky Lane in the town of Kartaly in the morning somewhere in March 2014. When Emergency Ministry firefighters were putting out the fire they retrieved dead bodies of 5 local residents: a man, a woman, two boys aged 7 and 10 and a 4-year-old girl. The investigators have revealed that Zakharchenko, ex-boyfriend of the mother of the killed children, was involved in the crime. The man confessed to the crime and told the investigator that he had set the house on fire to kill his ex-girlfriend and her family. In 2011, after drinking some alcohol in the flat of his acquaintances in the town of Kartaly the accused stole two pairs of women’s shoes worth 800 rubles and 60 rubles in cash. To conceal the crime he set the flat on fire and fled the scene. Three local residents and a baby girl died in the fire. In September 2012, drunk Zakharchenko beat a local resident to death. After that he threw the body in a pit and covered it with some garbage.

A lot of investigative activities and forensic inquiries have been done: over 50 witnesses have been questioned, more than 25 forensic tests have been assigned, including a forensic medical, fire, DNA ones, which have given irrefutable evidence of Zakharchenko’s involvement in the series of especially grave crimes.

Additionally, during the probe the investigators filed a request with the head of the Kartaly town police department to eliminate the reasons that had contributed to the crimes, because the accused had multiple police records and had committed the crimes while on bail. A police officer was disciplined for negligence.

The court has sentenced Zakharchenko to life imprisonment to be served in a maximum-security penal colony.