Skeletons in the forest
Investigators were searching for the bodies of Ekaterina Levchenko and Artem Dorofeev, whose murders may have been linked to defendants in the high-profile case of the terrorist group "Network"*.
Story Alexey Poltavets about the possible involvement of the defendants in the "Network"* case in the double murder published in February 2020 and was initially perceived as an FSB provocation. During these days, thousands of people in various Russian cities held pickets demanding a review of the harsh sentences against seven political prisoners from Penza and verify their claims of torture with electric shocks in a pretrial detention center. It seemed that the version of a murder in the Ryazan forest was simply an attempt to dampen public support and divert media attention.
Even the news that Poltavets's tips helped discover the remains of 19-year-old Kateryna Levchenko was met in activist circles with suggestions like "the bodies were planted" and "the bones belonged to others."
A defendant in the "Network"* case Maxim Ivankin, who is now also accused of murdering a girl, has so far refrained from testifying. He plans to speak after the prosecution finishes presenting its evidence.
Following the first 15 hearings, NeMoskva compiled a summary of the minutes and expert reports presented by prosecutors. These documents show how investigators searched for the victims and collected evidence at the murder scene (spoiler alert: they initially worked poorly, but after a public outcry, they found almost everything needed for the criminal case).
Unknown body
A message that is nearby the village of Lopukhi The discovery of a buried human body was reported to the Ryazan police department on the evening of November 27, 2017. It was already dark when the investigative team arrived at the scene.
At first they drove along the highway, then along an old, potholed road. Beyond the village of Lopukhi, the asphalt ended completely, and for the last four and a half kilometers, the police car crawled along a dirt road, mixing mud with freshly fallen snow.
It wasn't until 11:00 a.m. that they reached the forested area where a local hunter's dog had stumbled upon the body. In the light of their flashlights, the investigator and detectives saw a human hand protruding from the ground. A fragment of a tibia was also found nearby.
The crime scene report indicated that the body was buried at a depth of 40 centimeters and was missing its right hand and foot.
The investigative team remained at the scene until four o'clock in the morning. No documents or items were found that would identify the deceased, nor any other evidence.
At the morgue, a "horizontal linear wound" 19 centimeters long was found on the deceased's neck, penetrating to the spinal column, as well as a "multi-fragmentary fracture of the facial bones." However, "putrefactive changes in the organs and tissues of the corpse" prevented a definitive conclusion about the criminal nature of the death. According to the criminal case file, in late 2017, investigators considered the possibility that such injuries could have been caused by the investigators themselves when they excavated the grave with a bayonet sapper shovel.
The forensic expert found it difficult to establish the exact date of death. He estimated a timeframe ranging from several weeks to several months. He also noted that while the body was in the forest, it had been gnawed by "carnivorous animals."
Difficulties also arose in determining the deceased's age. Initially, experts estimated he was 35-45 years old. But after reconstructing his facial features from the skull bones, they settled on an age of 25-35.
Experts were also able to obtain fingerprints from three remaining fingers of the left hand, but a database search yielded no results.
Lost time
The body of a 22-year-old Penza resident was found in a Ryazan forest. Artem Dorofeev, it became clear only at the end of 2018, based on the DNA genetic profile.
In fact, the deceased's identity could have been established much earlier, as just three weeks after the body was discovered, experts analyzed a bone tissue sample and entered the results into a national database. However, due to the slow pace of the Penza police, the search dragged on for over a year.
The fact is that Dorofeev's father filed a missing persons report for his son back in April 2017, but he wasn't offered a DNA sample until 19 months later. Immediately after this data was entered into the database, it matched the genotype of a person whose remains were stored in the Ryazan morgue. By that time, they hadn't received any information. remained mostly bones, so it was already useless to carry out the identification procedure with the participation of the parents.
That this is her son, Nadezhda Dorofeeva I didn't believe it right away: Artem was 190 cm tall, while the height of the discovered body was "about 180 cm." Furthermore, the weight difference was almost 10 kilograms.
In this regard, the mother ordered an independent DNA test, which once again confirmed that the deceased was Artem Dorofeev.
His remains were buried in July 2019. Around the same time, an engineer from St. Petersburg contacted investigators. Ilya Khesin. He cited the results of his own investigation and put forward the theory that defendants in the high-profile criminal case against the terrorist group "Network"* may have been involved in Artem's murder.
In addition, Khesin spoke about another possible victim - a 19-year-old Ekaterina Levchenko, who was Dorofeev's girlfriend and disappeared with him.
I said that there is a possibility that in the same area [where Artem Dorofeev’s remains were found] the remains of Ekaterina Levchenko will also be found, recalled Ilya Khesin during questioning in court. "But I received disinterest from the Penza and Ryazan Investigative Committees."
Return to the Ryazan forest
Investigators returned to the Ryazan forest only in February 2020, when the version of Khesin verified journalists from the online publication Meduza**, and the case of the possible murder of Ekaterina Levchenko came under the personal control of the head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation Alexandra Bastrykina.
Despite the fact that the snow depth in the forest reached 25 centimeters, forensic experts began to examine the area step by step.
On the very first day, February 27, using a metal detector, they found two small garden shovels without handles, as well as traces of a fire pit with traces of burnt metal and plastic. Experts later concluded that these were buttons and rivets, most likely from burned clothing and backpacks. The fire pit was located just two meters from the pit where Artem Dorofeyev's body was discovered in November 2017..
On March 3, the search radius was expanded to three meters. Several more buttons and rivets, a five-ruble coin, a swollen cell phone battery, ibuprofen tablets, and activated charcoal were found.
Investigators also melted the frozen ground, discovering two pieces of fabric with metal rivets, Nurofen tablets, a tube with the remains of hand cream, a metal spoon, a zipper from a cosmetic bag, and two feminine hygiene tampons.
On March 4, 72 meters from where Dorofeev's body was found, forensic experts noticed a hole in the ground revealing a fragment of black clothing. It turned out to be a Rainbow vest with headphones in the pocket and two stab wounds caused by "an object with a blade estimated to be 15-25 mm wide." Traces of human blood were also found on the hood lining.
As Nadezhda Dorofeeva explained in court, her son had exactly the same vest. However, investigators are raising the possibility that Ekaterina Levchenko may have worn it on the day of the murder.
“She often wore Artem’s clothes- confirmed her mother is under investigation Tatyana Levchenko. - And she always wore headphones.».
Fragments of a knitted scarf belonging to the girl were found just two meters from the vest. And within a 10-meter radius were the remains of Ekaterina Levchenko herself, apparently scavenged by carnivores. These included a skull missing the lower jaw, fragments of ribs, vertebrae, and a femur.
A black sweater, an elastic band, and a brown leatherette belt with a star and anchor on a brass buckle were also found at the same site. Investigators believe the latter may have belonged to defendant Maxim Ivankin, as evidenced by testimony from his cellmate. Maxim Zhulin, who was in pretrial detention with him in March 2020.
"Maxim communicated with me much more closely and openly than with other cellmates. During our conversations, he told me about the murder of a girl and a young man, — Zhulin recounted what he claimed was one of their confidential conversations. — Together with Alexey Poltavets they They burned the personal belongings of the murdered young man and woman. During the murder and burial of the bodies, Ivankin either lost or forgot his army belt with a large metal buckle.
However, the jury was not convinced of the veracity of the testimony of his cellmate, to whom Ivankin suddenly confessed to the murder. doubtedOne of them even asked whether Zhulin had had any conflicts with the defendant and any reason to slander him.
At the same time, Maxim Ivankin’s army belt was mentioned during questioning in court on July 3 by his co-defendant in the “Network”* case. Ilya Shakursky.
I saw him wearing an army belt several times. He served in the Navy, I think he had an anchor [on the belt buckle], - Shakursky said and confirmed that during the investigation he identified the belt with the image of a star and anchor as belonging to Ivankin.
"Neither exclude nor confirm"
Forensic experts will find several more bones left from Ekaterina Levchenko in August 2020 of the year, lining up in a chain at a distance of 40 centimeters from each other and combing an area of the forest.
They will also find several metal coins, an elastic band, the remains of a burnt sweatshirt and a knitted T-shirt, a yellow-green cord and a metal badge from a backpack with the inscription "Ellehammer", with traces of strong thermal exposure.
One of the fragments of fabric found has a metal ring with the repeating inscription "TRN 1961" - this is the brand of the "Terranova" store, where, according to Tatyana Levchenko, her daughter often bought clothes.
Several DNA tests have confirmed that the remains found in the forest are 99,9% likely to belong to Ekaterina Levchenko.
It was not possible to establish the exact cause and time of the girl's death "due to the total skeletonization of the bone remains," which also contained traces of exposure to the teeth of carnivorous animals and significant fluctuations in ambient temperatures.
“No damage from impacts of objects with piercing or cutting properties, nor damage from impact of firearms, was found.”, — one of the official conclusions specifies.
At the same time, experts emphasized that the killer could have inflicted stab wounds “without trauma to bone structures.”
“In other words, it is neither possible to rule out nor to confirm that Levchenko’s death was caused by double exposure to a stabbing or cutting object.”, — medical specialists summarized.
The version about a shot from a carbine
While examining the crime scene in the spring of 2020, forensic experts checked version Alexey Poltavets, who admitted to journalists that he shot Artem Dorofeyev with a Saiga rifle, was examined. Trees within a seven-meter radius of where Dorofeyev's body was found were inspected and three mechanical damages were found on the trunks of two birch trees.
A forensic ballistics examination concluded that these injuries were caused by the impact of a bullet fired from a 12-gauge hunting rifle. Their surfaces contained numerous particles of copper, lead, and sulfur, which could be the byproducts of a gunshot.
Copper and antimony deposits were also found on items removed from Dorofeev's body. Moreover, according to experts, the antimony particles indicate that the shot was fired at close range.
A direct connection between the gunshot and the skull fracture could not be established "due to putrefactive changes." However, several medical specialists admitted that Dorofeev could have died after being shot in the face with a carbine and having his throat slit.
“The multi-fragmentary comminuted nature of the fractures of the facial bones does not exclude the possibility of a gunshot wound,” — the documents say.
Caring for the court
Maxim Ivankin has not yet commented on the announced protocols and expert examinations.
Only sometimes his lawyer Konstantin Kartashov made comments about the photographs and videos from the murder scene that the prosecutor showed to the jury.
Here are photographs of the skull and tibia. We object to their being presented to the jury, as they are quite difficult for an untrained person to examine. — Kartashov said at the court hearing on April 4.
In his opinion, images of the remains of Ekaterina Levchenko and Artem Dorofeev could exert "psychological pressure on the jury" and "negatively influence their judgment."
However, the state prosecution does not think so.
We have no intention of putting pressure on the jury, and the photographs show no signs of disfigurement, — the prosecutor answered him. Vadim Aladyshev. These are just skeletal remains. Skeletons.
Over the course of five months of court hearings, this dialogue between the defense and prosecution took place three times. And all three times, the judge Natalia Kianovskaya allowed the display of photographs and videos that, in her opinion, were not shocking.
*In January 2019, the Moscow District Court designated "The Network" a terrorist organization. The defendants in the case claim that such an organization never existed.
**On January 26, 2023, the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation declared the online publication Meduza an undesirable organization whose activities pose a threat to the foundations of the constitutional order and security of the Russian Federation.
