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5-year-old boy’s killer says he commits murder under influence of alcohol

A Chita court convicted Semyonov of murder in 2002. He was released in 2010
Screenshot Russia-24
Screenshot Russia-24

MOSCOW, August 5 (Itar-Tass) —— Detectives of the Vladimir regional department of the Russian Investigation Committee are done questioning Dmitry Semyonov, 30, who surrendered on Saturday and confessed killing 5-year-old Bogdan Prakhov. The confession is being verified, Investigation Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin told Itar-Tass.

A Chita court convicted Semyonov of murder in 2002. He was released in 2010; had no permanent residence and even lost the document certifying his release from prison.

“Semyonov had been moving around the country for two years doing random jobs. The police took notice of him only once in that period. Approximately six months before the death of Bogdan Prakhov, he came to Vladimir and mostly socialized with hobos,” he said.

Drunken Semyonov was passing by a dacha compound on June 19 and saw children playing. As soon as the children rode their bikes outside of the compound premises, he hit the senior boy on the head, grabbed Bogdan and started running towards the forest. “Explaining the cause of the murder, Semyonov said that the boy was shouting very loudly and could attract attention. So he shut the boy’s mouth with his hand and started beating him. When the crime was committed, Semyonov tried to escape from the police. He was moving along large roads and through forests. He joined a group of hobos in Moscow, and the hobos recommended him to spend some time in a rehabilitation center,” Markin said.

Semyonov left Moscow for St. Petersburg and was stopped by the police in the Tver vicinity. The police wanted to check his possible involvement in a theft in the Vladimir region, but he started making murder confessions.

“So far the police have mostly the suspect’s testimony. The testimony will be verified in investigative procedures,” Markin said. Detectives are searching for persons who stayed in touch with Semyonov in the past two months and holding examinations, which will either confirm or refute Semyonov’s killing of the boy.