“We managed to unravel the tangle of a mysterious disappearance”: a 1998 murder was solved in the Gomel region

Screenshot of the video of SK March 29, Gomel. The Investigation Department of the Criminal Investigation Department for the Gomel Region has established the circumstances of the murder of a native of the Zhlobin region, who was listed as missing for more than a quarter of a century. The details were reported to BELTA by the official representative of the USC for the Gomel region, Maria Krivonogova.

According to the case file, the man disappeared in 1998. it is known that in May of that year he was released after serving his sentence for a cable stolen from the enterprise. In June I visited my mother and four sisters living in Zhlobin and MINSK. I told my family about my plans: I was going to Moscow with a friend to sell raspberries. I borrowed money from two sisters to buy berries. He has not been seen since: the 24-year-old man disappeared without a trace.

“In 2023, the name of the “unknown man” from the Zhlobinsky district sounded again in the offices of investigators and operatives in departments at the district and regional levels. Through joint titanic efforts, we managed to unravel the tangle of a mysterious disappearance. The starting point was a message to the police from a resident of the Vetkovsky district about a terrible find in his yard home in August. While digging a trench for sewerage, a man discovered bone remains. Subsequently, a skeletonized body with a metal loop in the cervical spine was lifted from the ground. Experts found a linear fracture on the skull in the frontal-temporo-parietal region," the USC explained.

Upon the discovery of the skeletal remains of a person with signs of violent death, a criminal case was opened under Part 1 of Article 139 of the Criminal Code. Several versions of what happened were being developed, and hundreds of citizens were questioned.

A set of investigative actions and operational search activities, as well as a number of labor-intensive forensic medical examinations carried out by employees of the State Examination Committee, yielded results. It was possible to establish the identity of the deceased. It turned out to be a relative of a Zhlobin woman, whose brother had been listed as missing for many years at that time.

Data on the owners of the site where the remains were found was processed. This is how the police got on the trail of a native of RUSSIA, born in 1961, who lived here from the mid-1990s until November 1998, and then moved to his parents’ house in the Gomel region. It is known that there he abused ALCOHOL, beat his mother, for which he came under investigation, after which he fled to Russia, where he died in 2007.

Investigators were able to establish an unobvious connection between the deceased and an escaped resident of the Gomel region. According to the information obtained, both worked for some time at the same enterprise.

“In the photograph presented to the sisters of the deceased, they recognized his brother’s partner in the berry business and described his car. Other witnesses were also identified. Based on this and other evidence, the investigation came to the conclusion that the murder of the young guy was committed by a native of Russia. According to witness testimony, both, being ablealcohol intoxication , were prone to outbursts of aggression. According to the key version of the investigation, in June 1998, the men arrived at the private house of the defendant in the Vetkovsky district. While drinking alcoholic beverages, a conflict arose between them, which could have been provoked by differences in views on joint trade in berries. In a fit of anger, the older friend took the life of his partner. The defendant buried the body in the yard and soon put the house up for sale. When making a deal, he warned buyers about an everyday nuance: a dead horse was buried in the farmstead. A quarter of a century later, the bones of a murdered person will be found at the indicated place,” the USC said.

In connection with the death of the defendant, the criminal prosecution against him and the preliminary investigation in the criminal case were terminated.