It took the Tambov investigators only a few days to uncover high-profile murder of a high-ranking official. The deputy head of the regional department of highways was dealt with at the entrance of his house. In the city, they immediately started talking about a contract crime, they say, the murdered person held a high position and probably dealt with a lot of money. But everything turned out differently. It turned out that the official could have been attacked by his adult stepson. Why didn’t fathers and children share?
The house where Viktor Vakulchik lived looks completely ordinary, but if you look at the parking lot – there are completely expensive foreign cars with beautiful numbers – it becomes clear that in Tambov this high-rise building is considered an elite one, and wealthy people choose it for living. Vakulchik himself sometimes used official transport, and it is possible that on the day of the attack, a car with a driver was waiting for him at the entrance.
The news that a high-ranking official Viktor Vakulchik had been killed on the threshold of his apartment instantly spread throughout Tambov. The deputy head of the regional department of roads and transport did not wait for a business meeting.
On February 14, Viktor Vakulchik had a regular working day. Early in the morning he left his apartment at number 21 and went to the elevator. Here he was overtaken by the killer, who, obviously, was hiding one flight of stairs higher. There are traces of splattered blood. At this place, the neighbors found the body of Vakulchik with several stab wounds.
The likely killer knew the daily routine of his victim perfectly well. The offender appeared at the entrance a few minutes before Vakulchik stepped over the threshold of his apartment.
Here he is on the footage from the surveillance camera – he lets people go out and enters the entrance. He climbs the stairs and covers his face with a black-gloved hand. A good hunting knife has already been prepared in the man’s bosom.
Investigators found that the likely killer left the crime scene by stairs. He did not linger at the entrance, he left in a minute, and here he got into the lens of a surveillance camera.
In the courtyard of the likely killer, cameras again recorded. Here he is, with frightening calmness, leaving the scene of the crime.
It looks like he is talking to someone on the phone, but it was not a conversation between the killer and the customer. It was this recording that, a couple of days later, helped the investigators identify and detain the suspect – 30-year-old Alexander Romanov, Vakulchik’s stepson.
“Against the background of the emerging conflict with his stepfather, he inflicted multiple stab wounds on him, after which he disappeared. As part of the investigation of the criminal case, clothes, as well as the alleged murder weapon, a knife, have already been found and seized,” explained Elena Kyarsna, senior assistant to the head of the Investigative Committee of the ICR for Tambovskaya areas.
Here is a photo of that knife. The handle is made of bone. On both parts there is an image of two wolves. Is it a hint of the Tambov wolf? According to the expert, the blade could have belonged to an avid hunter or collector, or a person who was preparing a bloody massacre in advance.
“The handle is made of bone, which indicates that this is not a cheap production, it is possible that it was made in the North Caucasus region, it is possible that it was made to order because the handle and blade have an image in the form of wolves,” Sergei believes. Illarionov, former employee of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.
It is not clear what sacred meaning the killer himself put into this weapon.
Investigators are not yet talking about his motives. It is known that Alexander Romanov pleaded guilty to the murder of his stepfather and was arrested on Friday by a court decision. Little is known about the identity of the likely perpetrator: he is married, has a son and a small business. According to our information, before the arrest, Romanov was registered in this high-rise building. Neighbors recognized the man from the photo, but said they had not seen the couple for a long time.
The murdered Viktor Vakulchik also left a son – a first-year student at one of the Tambov universities. Vakulchik was married for the second time and lived with his wife, the mother of Alexander Romanov. We asked the relatives of the official what the reasons for the family drama were, but no one opened the door for us, although steps and dog barking could be heard from the apartment. Vakulchik’s neighbors are frightened by the terrible reprisal, they only say good things about the murdered official.
The Regional Department of Roads and Transport, where Viktor Vakulchik worked, although located in the center of Tambov, is not easy to find. It is behind these doors, but there is no sign or any identification marks, only “Uprdor” is written on the intercom. Everyone who wants to get into the building must press the button at number 4.
The inside of the building is freshly renovated, the management moved here quite recently. Even the information stand did not have time to hang up – they leaned against the wall. On it, by the way, Viktor Vakulchik is still listed as deputy head. The head of the department, Alber Churilov, cannot believe that his colleague is no more.
“We talked at work and in an informal setting, a very good person, smoothed everything, pleasant,” said Albert Churilov, head of the department of roads and transport of the Tambov region.
Viktor Vakulchik has been working in the Department of Roads and Transport since 2017, supervising transport and passenger transportation. Judging by the building of the new bus station, he did a good job. Numerous passengers who travel to different parts of the Tambov region are happy with the comfort of the new transport hub, complaining only about the rudeness of the conductors.
A mini-interview about comfortable trips around the Tambov region was suddenly interrupted by one of the drivers.
– Yes, take a picture of the road along which you need to travel, what are you filming …
With difficulty overcoming the ice mounds on the station square, we got to the minibus of Sergei Mordvintsev, and he continued his ruthless revelations of local managers
– Look at the roads, it’s impossible to drive, I’m the driver, I don’t like it.
– Are the salaries worthy here?
– I only have enough to eat and something to wear and that’s it, I don’t have enough for anything else.
It is unlikely that snow removal was the responsibility of Viktor Vakulchik. They say that thanks to his work, flights from Moscow to Tambov and back were resumed, the number of railway routes increased, and the rolling stock of regional carriers was updated. It seems that everything was fine in the service of Viktor Vakulchik, in contrast to the family, where, according to the investigators, a conflict had brewed, which eventually became the cause of the murder. Now the investigation of this complicated case is ongoing and in the near future it will certainly become clear why the stepson harbored a deadly rage at his stepfather.
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