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Criminal Records - Most Wanted |
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Profile |
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Name: Vladimir
"Walter"
Balachov
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Sex: Male |
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Race: White |
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Age Now: 37 |
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Height: 5"10" |
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Weight: 150 lbs. |
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Hair (Color, Description, Facial Hair): Brown
Has a receding hairline |
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Eyes (Color and Correction): Brown |
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Wanted for :
Murder-2 cts, Brooklyn, NY;
Nov 12, 1995
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Location(s) |
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Last Seen : Brooklyn, NY |
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Possible Location : Finland
Russia
New York |
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Last Known : Unkown |
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Traits |
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Russian native |
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Speaks little English |
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Places personal ads in Russian newspapers to meet women |
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Has worked as a carpenter in construction jobs, as a gas station jockey and as a cashier |
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Has prior arrest for shoplifting and possession of a stolen credit card |
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Case Story |
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A Two-State Murder Mystery |
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On the night of November 12, 1995, four lives collided in the Brighton Beach community of Brooklyn, New York. By morning, two of the four individuals had been brutally murdered.
The victims' bodies were not discovered for days. A dog named Lilly, on a walk, happened upon the gruesome sight; at Plum Beach she found a female human leg floating in the water. Twenty-four hours later, a man's severed head was found washed ashore. NYPD knew they were dealing with at least two homicides -- but where were the rest of the victims' remains? Their questions would quickly be answered.
Two torsos, each stuffed inside a suitcase, were discovered after being dumped in the woods of New Jersey. And the cops were in luck: a witness had observed a man walking with the two same suitcases. The witness helped New Jersey police create a composite sketch of the murder suspect.
Police determined that the body parts found in New York belonged to the torsos found in New Jersey. Since the bulk of the evidence was found in New Jersey, New York Police handed over the case. |
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Clues Emerge |
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Mike Prokopiw, a Russian-speaking detective with the Essex County Police Department, and Jim Gold, an investigator with the Essex County D.A.'s office, paired up to solve the mysterious murder case.
The duo became known among their peers as "The Cigar Squad," for their common love of cigars.
Working off a theory that the victims were of Slavic descent, Prokopiw and Gold headed to New Jersey's Russian community -- and hit paydirt. A landlord at an apartment complex identified the male victim as his former tenant, Fakhat Askarov, from the Ukraine.
Digging into Fakhat's past, the detectives learned of his new address in Brooklyn, New York. They also learned he had a Latvian girlfriend, Larisa Jakovleva. The two detectives suspected that Jakovleva may have been the female victim.
The investigation led The Cigar Squad back over the bridge into Brooklyn. No one was home at Fakhat's apartment, but his landlord provided the two detectives with the names of Fakhat's roommates, Anatoliy Valenko and Vladimir Balachov; Russian immigrants who had disappeared.
The landlord remembered that the last time he saw Valenko was also the last time he had seen Fakhat and Larisa. Valenko had knocked on the landlord's door looking for his key. According to the landlord, he appeared upset and agitated and had fresh scratches on his face and abrasions on his hands.
The investigators verified Valenko and Balachov had purchased a circular saw at a local hardware store with Fakhat's credit card. And the witness in New Jersey identified Balachov as the man he had seen with the suitcases in the woods. Further testing uncovered traces of blood in the apartment. Detectives also were able to identify Larisa Jakovleva as the female victim.
Prokopiw and Gold knew Valenko and Balacho committed the murders, but they were missing a big piece of the puzzle: why? |
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The Puzzle Pieces Fall Into Place |
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An old phone bill left in Fakhat's mailbox would provide cops the answer.
Phone call records showed that a number of calls were made to a Russian friend of Larisa's, who was often at Fakhat's apartment, and who also hung out with Valenko and Balachov.
When police started questioning Larisa's friend, she gave detectives a photo showing her perched on Larisa's suitcase. It was the same suitcase that housed Fakhat's body.
The friend told police that Valenko and Balachov were jealous of Fakhat's financial status. After Valenko and Balachov began asking her where the money was kept, she warned Fakhat to be careful.
Police theorize that Fakhat and Larisa caught Valenko and Balachov trying to break into his locked bedroom closet. They believe it sparked an argument that escalated to murder and dismemberment. |
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