Authorities in the Bratsk district, Irkutsk region, recently concluded a long-awaited resolution to a 1997 double homicide, with a court ruling announced in 2022. The decision targets a 63-year-old local man who was convicted under Part 2 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for the murder of two residents of the village of Vikhorevka. The information comes from the press office of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Irkutsk region .
The Bratsk District Court delivered its verdict in the criminal case against the elderly defendant after a detailed investigation that was supported by courtroom evidence. The man was found guilty of killing two individuals in the village of Vikhorevka during mid-May 1997. The court’s findings indicate that the accused visited a fellow villager at his home with the intent to help and ended up committing a brutal assault on the host, striking him repeatedly with an axe. The fatal injuries were sustained by the homeowner as a result of the blows.
As investigators pursued the truth, another witness—an associate of the victim—arrived at the residence and observed the unfolding crime. The defendant then attacked this witness as well, inflicting knife wounds and landing multiple axe blows to the head. In a bid to conceal the crime, the killer later set the house on fire, creating a second layer of evidence and danger for anyone nearby.
The prosecution’s position, echoed by the court, emphasized the severity and premeditation of the acts. After evaluating all the arguments and evidence presented, the court handed down a sentence of five years in a penal colony with a strict regime. The ruling reflects the state’s determination to hold individuals accountable for violent crimes, even when years have elapsed since the incident.
In related developments, authorities noted a separate criminal case from April involving a resident of the Smolensk region. In that incident, an individual was killed with a fatal injury to the head after a confrontation involving a friend’s axe. While this case shares the violent nature of the Bratsk district incident, it is treated as a separate matter in the criminal landscape of the region.