The killer of the journalist's family was brought to court

Yesterday, the Altai Republican Prosecutor's Office completed its investigation into the murder of Omsk journalist Alexander Petrov and his family: his wife Alena and two sons - 3-year-old Nikita and 7-year-old Artem.

 

As Alexey Krivyakov, senior investigator of the Altai Republic (AR) prosecutor's office, reported to Kommersant, yesterday the prosecutor's office completed the investigation into the murder in August in the Ongudaysky District of the AR of 31-year-old journalist from Omsk Alexander Petrov, his wife Alena, and their two sons, three-year-old Nikita and seven-year-old Artem (Part 2 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The prosecutors brought charges against teenager Ruslan Kulish. Moreover, the qualifying features of the crimes of which Kulish is accused are "murder with particular cruelty" and "murder of persons in a helpless state." Kulish is also charged with armed robbery (Part 4 of Article 162), possession of weapons (Part 1 of Article 222) and attempted murder (Articles 30, Article 105): before killing the Petrovs, Kulish, according to the investigation, fired at the foreign car of the businessman he intended to rob. According to the investigator, the relatives of the deceased have been notified that they can familiarize themselves with the case materials. As it became known, the father of Alexander Petrov, special correspondent for the ITAR-TASS agency in Omsk Anatoly Petrov, will not be able to come to Gorno-Altaisk due to poor health. Then the investigation materials will be presented to Kulish for review, and he will be given a copy of the indictment.

In early August, the Petrovs and their children went on a road trip through the Altai Mountains. On the 8th, the family stopped on the picturesque bank of the Tuekta River near the village of the same name. The Petrovs' Mitsubishi caught the eye of Ruslan Kulish, who had been expelled from vocational school for fighting and drinking alcohol. He smoked two cigarettes with marijuana , wandered around the area with a gun stolen from a relative. Before this, the teenager, as the investigation established, fired at the Toyota car of businessman Ekonyan, who was carrying finishing materials. The sound of the shot was similar to the sound of a tire puncture. As soon as Ekonyan got out of the car to inspect the ramp, he came under fire. Miraculously, the victim managed to get the car out of the fire.

Kulish decided to play it safe with the Petrovs. He set up an ambush in the bushes. According to the case materials, Kulish wounded Alexander Petrov in the stomach with his first shot. The next bullet hit the journalist's wife. With his third shot, the teenager, according to the investigation, shattered the arm of the older boy, Artem. He finished off the wounded boy with a rifle butt, and then, as reported by the prosecutor's office, turned to his three-year-old brother Nikita. Thinking that the adults were still alive, the teenager hit Alexander Petrov on the head with an axe, and threw a heavier stone at his wife Alena's face. He threw the bodies, tent, and belongings of the victims into the Tuektenka River. He threw the gun he used into the Katun River. He got into the car and drove to Gorno-Altaisk. Kulish and his friends drove around the capital of the republic for two days until the car "boiled" in the heat. After that, the teenager returned home.

The body of Alexander Petrov was found on August 12 on the bank of a mountain river, and two days later the current washed up the body of Alena Petrova. The republican prosecutor's office opened a criminal case into the murder. On August 17, operatives managed to detain the suspect. He wrote a confession and stated that he wanted to ride in the victims' car. And soon the search party found the murdered Petrov children: Nikita was found on the bank of one of the small rivers, Artem - in the river under a snag. Roman Kulish was sent for a psychological and psychiatric examination. It found him sane. Narcologists also examined the teenager: they established that the accused did not suffer from drug addiction, although he occasionally used cannabis drugs.
Kommersant will follow the trial.