Top Russian Scientist Andrey Botikov, who created the Sputnik COVID vaccine, was found dead in his Moscow apartment on Thursday. He was strangled to death.
The suspect Alexei Zmanovsky reportedly served time in prison for sex crimes.
An alleged gay prostitute has allegedly strangled one of the creators of the Sputnik V vaccine in Moscow. Andrey Botikov apparently asked for asphyxia, but it went wrong.
Alexey Zmanovsky, who has reportedly admitted guilt, has been remanded in custody until May. pic.twitter.com/TBfiGuO3io
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Scientist Andrey Botikov and Alexey Zmanovsky
The Daily Mail reported:
Russia’s investigative committee has launched a murder investigation after a top scientist was found dead in his Moscow apartment yesterday.
Andrey Botikov, known as one of the 18 scientists who worked on the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine in 2020, was identified as the man who had been strangled to death with a belt in northwest Moscow.
It was previously reported he had survived the encounter after an intruder broke into his home and started rowing with him over money.
But a 29-year-old man has since been arrested and charged with the murder of the scientist.
The Investigative Committee of Russia said they found the suspect in ‘the shortest possible time’ after he tried to flee the scene.
They claim he confessed to the crime during an interrogation.
The committee also reported the defendant had already been prosecuted for committing another ‘serious’ crime.
Russian media reported that the suspect, known as Alexei Z, had spent 10 years in prison on charges of providing sex services.
Andrey Botikov was a senior researcher at the National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology.