Lipetsk Deputy Found Dead in Cement Barrel

The St. Petersburg Times

Published: February 20, 2013 (Issue # 1747)

MOSCOW — Police say they found the body of Lipetsk city council deputy Mikhail Pakhomov in a barrel of cement in a garage near Moscow. He had been declared missing Feb. 12.

“It has been confirmed that the remains found in the area of the Obukhov village in the Noginsky district belong to Pakhomov. The nature of the wounds suggests that he was killed,” investigators told Interfax on Monday.

On Sunday night, police said they discovered a barrel with cement containing a man’s body in the garage of a resident of the Noginsky district. The identity of that resident has not been disclosed. Police have opened a criminal case on charges of murder, which carries a maximum punishment of life in prison.

RIA-Novosti reported, citing the Investigative Committee’s press service, that at least eight people have been detained on suspicion of murdering Pakhomov. The alleged mastermind, Yevgeny Kharitonov, a former Moscow region utilities official, was reportedly arrested at Sheremetyevo Airport aboard a flight heading to Krasnodar. It is believed that Pakhomov owed him money.

On Sunday, police said they detained five people aged between 24 and 30 believed to be involved, who face up to 15 years in prison on charges of kidnapping. They also detained three Muscovites suspected of stealing property worth about 400,000 rubles ($13,000) from Pakhomov, Interfax reported.

Pakhomov is believed to have been abducted Feb. 12 in the southwestern region of Lipetsk. Police later stopped a car in the Moscow region where they found Pakhomov’s personal belongings.