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A court has recognized the evidence collected by the Voronezh Region Office of the Investigative Committee sufficient to convict 23 resident of Novaya Usman District, Voronezh Region Aleksey Vlasov. He was found guilty of crimes under Part 4 of Article 162 (robbery with infliction of grievous bodily harm) and Part 2 o0f Article 105 of the RF Penal Code (robbery-related murder of a person in helpless state).

The court and investigators have revealed that on 25 July 2015, Vlasov and his acquaintance were drinking alcohol near Chernavsky bridge in the town of Voronezh. Wanting to continue drinking and not having any money to do that, they decided to kill an elderly woman to rob her. When they arrived to the woman’s house, they introduced themselves as her relatives and got inside. They brought the woman down, held her and demanded that she gave them money. The 89-year-old woman said that she had no money, tried to fight back and call for help. The men mercilessly beat the woman hitting and kicking her on the head, neck, body and limbs. They held the woman in turns and covered her mouth to make her stop calling for help. They then smothered her with a pillow. They searched the flat, but found no money or any other valuables, so they stole Great Patriotic War anniversary medals. They fled to Moscow Region.

The crime remained unsolved for several months, but the investigators together with the police worked hard to identify the perpetrators. They were residents of Voronezh Region and the town of Astrakhan. They were put on the federal wanted list. In November 2015, Vlasov was located in Moscow. He was delivered to an investigator and detained as a suspect of the said crimes. During the preliminary investigation he gave testimony against himself and his accomplice. He confirmed the testimony on the crime scene. Later he said that he committed the crimes alone. Eventually he denied the charges and refused to testify.

At the same time, the investigator has enough evidence based on testimony of witnesses and injured parties and conclusions of forensic inquiries proving that the two men were involved in the crimes. The case against the second of the accused has been severed to form a separate lawsuit while he is still wanted.

The court sentenced Vlasov to 19 years in a maximum-security correctional facility.