MOSCOW: Andrey Botikovone of the scientists who helped create the Rus COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik Vwas strangled with a belt in his apartment here and police have arrested a suspect in connection with the murder, according to a report in Russian media on Saturday.
Botikov, 47, who worked as a senior researcher at the Gamaleya National Research Center for Ecology and Mathematics, was found dead in his apartment on Thursday, the Russian news agency TASS quoted the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation as saying.
Russian President Vladimir Putin honored the virologist with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland award for his work on the Covid vaccine in 2021. Botikov was reportedly one of 18 scientists to develop the Sputnik V vaccine in 2020.
His death is being investigated as a homicide, the commission, the investigative authority in Russia, said in a Telegram statement.
According to investigators, a 29-year-old young man strangled Botikov with a belt during an argument and fled. Law enforcement authorities said the murder was a domestic crime and the result of conflict, the report said.
The suspect was arrested shortly after Botikov’s body was found, the federal investigation agency said in the statement.
“The location of the attacker was established in a short time. During interrogation, he pleaded guilty and was charged. The suspect has a previous criminal record, as he was on trial on charges of committing a serious crime. In the near future, the investigation intends to request the court to detain the accused pending trial,” the inquiry commission said.
Botikov, 47, who worked as a senior researcher at the Gamaleya National Research Center for Ecology and Mathematics, was found dead in his apartment on Thursday, the Russian news agency TASS quoted the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation as saying.
Russian President Vladimir Putin honored the virologist with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland award for his work on the Covid vaccine in 2021. Botikov was reportedly one of 18 scientists to develop the Sputnik V vaccine in 2020.
His death is being investigated as a homicide, the commission, the investigative authority in Russia, said in a Telegram statement.
According to investigators, a 29-year-old young man strangled Botikov with a belt during an argument and fled. Law enforcement authorities said the murder was a domestic crime and the result of conflict, the report said.
The suspect was arrested shortly after Botikov’s body was found, the federal investigation agency said in the statement.
“The location of the attacker was established in a short time. During interrogation, he pleaded guilty and was charged. The suspect has a previous criminal record, as he was on trial on charges of committing a serious crime. In the near future, the investigation intends to request the court to detain the accused pending trial,” the inquiry commission said.
