ST. PETERSBURG, November 10. /TASS/. An alleged victim of a lecturer of St. Petersburg State University and a historian, Anastasia Eshchenko was gunned down on November 7, a source close to investigation told TASS on Sunday.
"According to the preliminary information, the murder was committed on November 7. The suspect shot the young woman from a traumatic pistol and left the body in the room," the source said.
The murder apparently occurred after a quarrel, he noted.
Early on November 9, lecturer Oleg Sokolov, born in 1956, was rescued from a river in the city. Human remains, or two female arms, and a traumatic pistol were found in his backpack. St. Petersburg investigators set up a criminal inquiry under Article 105 Part 1 of Russia’s Criminal Code (murder). The man, who has entered into a plea bargain agreement, is now being convoyed from hospital for an interrogation.
According to law enforcement sources, Sokolov’s alleged victim, postgraduate student called Anastasia Eshchenko, was said to have been his co-author in joint scientific works and could have had an intimate relationship with him. According to preliminary reports, the young woman had come to St. Petersburg from the Russian southern Krasnodar region and graduated from university three years ago. Investigators told TASS that they were looking into media reports that Sokolov had allegedly beaten female students.