Kiryl Schukin (Medford Police Department), Leonid Volkov (Middlesex DA’s Office), Pavel Vekshin (Medford Police Department)
A suspect who recently faced eviction and was spotted driving a rented U-Haul when two men suddenly vanished in Massachusetts in late March now faces murder charges, according to prosecutors.
Leonid Volkov, 37, is accused of stabbing Kiryl Schukin, 37, and Pavel Vekshin, 28, and shoving their remains into rubber bins that were left at the iStorage facility in Brighton. Schukin was dismembered, and both bleach and rubber gloves are allegedly among that evidence in possession of the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office and the Medford Police Department.
Medford Police just days ago asked for assistance finding Vekshin and Schukin. Worried friends and co-workers reported the men missing on April 9, authorities said. Prosecutors said that the missing person investigation led to the grisly discovery of the victims’ remains five days later.
“Just before midnight on April 14, investigators executed a search warrant on a Brighton storage unit that had been rented by the defendant using one of the victims’ names. Upon entry into the unit they were able to locate the bodies of both men inside rubber storage bins,” the DA’s office said in an alert. “The body of a man, tentatively identified as Kiryl Schukin, had been dismembered. Bleach, rubber gloves and items belonging to the deceased were also located.”
More Law&Crime coverage: ‘Bombshell’ Google search throws major wrench in case against lecturer charged with cop murder
Volkov knew both victims and may have been driven to kill after recently facing eviction from his Medford apartment, authorities suggested.
“Investigators learned that Mr. Schukin had been a guarantor on the lease for the apartment of Leonid Volkov in Medford. However, Mr. Schukin had recently declined to be the guarantor on the lease extension resulting in Mr. Volkov’s eviction,” the DA’s office said.
Volkov is accused of renting a U-Haul and meeting with Schukin in the vehicle on March 29 before stabbing the victim and dismembering his remains. Authorities said that the suspect is on video “entering and leaving the victims’ building” on Locust Street “in the days following the last time Pavel Vekshin and Kiryl Schukin were seen.”
The U-Haul which Volkov rented was found at the storage unit business where the victims’ remains were briefly hidden, cops determined.
The defendant is scheduled to appear in court for the first time in the double-homicide case on Tuesday.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
