Ukrainian professor Iryna Farion was killed from converted pistol: sports bullet shell found at scene
Pravda Ukraine
The investigation in the case of the murder of Iryna Farion, linguist, professor at Lviv Polytechnic National University and former Ukrainian MP, believes that she was shot at from a distance of about 1.5-2 metres from a converted pistol. A shell of a sports bullet was found at the scene.
Source: a briefing in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine
Quote by a law enforcement official: “The investigation believes that the murder was committed from a converted pistol. Having examined his phone, we saw Internet search results for converted weapons. So far we have not established where he looked for and obtained the cartridges, but there is a clue – an 18-year-old boy was interested in such weapons, and was looking for them, specifically, for a starting gun. Just like [he looked for] a panama.”
Details: Ihor Klymenko, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, reported that the police headed out to the scene of the crime right after being informed about the shooting. Klymenko was present at the crime scene at night himself.
Quote: “We conducted several investigative experiments concerning this crime – who and how committed it. We were at the scene of the crime, we saw where the body was lying and where the perpetrator was. This week we found out everything about the suspect’s life. You know his name and last name and that he was detained. Law enforcement has done colossal work.
A 9×18 bullet was found, as well as a sports cartridge case. It is being examined. Such cartridges were procured in 2017-18 in a quantity of 1 million units. This is a specific bullet, not one of those designed to kill. We must establish where it was bought – maybe, at the black market. Maybe it was bought in advance.”
Details: The gun has not been found.
Law enforcement published videos and photos of the suspect, of his routes, information about his stopping place in Lviv and information from his mobile phone.
Klymenko stated that a photo taken by a bystander helped in the search. A woman took a photo of the suspect in glasses near entrance No.6 of the residential building where Farion lived.
The police added that 900 witnesses had been interrogated, 22 court examinations were ordered, over 80 individuals with a similar appearance were checked, the footage of 170 CCTV cameras was analysed.
The police stressed that “it was established that it was this individual who committed the crime”.
Law enforcement found out that the suspect changed three places of residence in the city of Lviv, as shown by the CCTV footage, documents from realtors, rent payment checks and data from his mobile phone.
It was also established that the suspect walked into the Nova Poshta post office to take a box. It contained his belongings from the city of Dnipro that he had shipped to himself in Lviv.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) reported that the murder had been committed behind a white silicate building. The CCTV footage shows the suspect walking up the crime scene a few seconds before committing the murder.
Reportedly, at that moment Farion was waiting for a taxi, she was relaxed and felt no threat. The culprit approached her at a distance of 1.5-2 metres.
The investigation reports that the suspect fled the scene of the crime, and two days later he was caught on a CCTV camera at the railway – he left for the city of Dnipro. There is also a video from the Dnipro railway station.
The suspect was detained in Dnipro where he lived with his mom. He had screenshots, photos of Farion, KGB instructions on his phone, and his search history contained searches of photos and information about other politicians. Law enforcement assumes that the suspect might have been preparing the next operation.
A “farewell note” was found in his phone in case something went wrong.
At the moment, the Prosecutor’s Office is preparing a request regarding choosing the restrictive measure for the perpetrator in the form of custody without the possibility of bail.
Read more on the topic: Iryna Farion murder: details of the assassination, lines of enquiry, and why the Lviv professor was so controversial
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