Irkutsk Man Strangles Hostage, Criminal Case Opened

Military investigative bodies of the Russian Investigative Committee have opened a criminal case against a man who took a woman hostage in the Raduzhny microdistrict and then strangled her on the night of January 28. He has been detained, according to the Telegram channel of the Investigative Department for Irkutsk Region.

The criminal case was opened under Part 1 of Article 105 of the Russian Criminal Code — murder.

A petition and investigation materials have been sent to the Irkutsk Garrison Military Court to select a preventive measure for the suspect in the form of detention.

Recall that details of the story were published by Alexander Sobolev, head of the Irkutsk charity fund «Obereg,» on the organization«s page. The victim was an Irkutsk resident — a ward of »Obereg,« and she left behind two children. According to Alexander Sobolev, she became involved in the unfortunate events by chance.

“For several months, the man had been terrorizing his wife and 7-year-old son. It was more than just beatings — real abuse with knife slashing, kicks, and humiliation. We sheltered them, protected them, and repeatedly alerted the police. The scoundrel, unable to think of anything better, yesterday evening [January 27] chose a random, innocent victim. By threatening with a knife, he took another resident of «Obereg» to his apartment, took her hostage at 9 p.m. at a bus stop near a store. In her place, it could have been anyone who displeased him,” wrote Sobolev.

The alleged criminal was persuaded to release the woman for several hours, with police, traffic police, emergency services, and other emergency and special services participating in the operation. The outcome was tragic: the man strangled the victim and surrendered only after that.

According to a source from «IrCity» in the security agencies, the attacker was linked to a military structure, so the investigation is being handled by the military police and the military Investigative Committee.