Murder victim was guarantor of suspect's Medford apartment, police say
MEDFORD - Medford residents are in disbelief after two missing men were found dead over the weekend. Pavel Vekshin, 28, and Kiryl Schukin, 37, of Medford, were reported missing earlier this month. Their bodies were found at the iStorage facility in Brighton on North Beacon Street.
"I think any community would be shocked," said Peggy Brown of Medford.
Leonid Volkov, 37, also of Medford, is being charged with the married couple's murders. Police say he stabbed the two men, and dismembered Schukin, dumping body parts in rubber bins in the storage unit.
"It's just disgusting," added Brown.
Bleach, rubber gloves, and belongings of the victims, were also found at the storage facility.
Investigators believe Volkov first met Schukin on March 29th in a rented U-Haul truck.
Schukin and Vekshin were living at an apartment complex at 61 Locust Street before they were killed. Police say Schukin was the guarantor on the suspect's Medford apartment. For reasons unknown at this time, Schukin declined to be the guarantor on Volkov's recent lease extension, resulting in his eviction.
Alicia Frank lives just up the street from the complex where the murdered men lived. "I live less than a mile away from here," said Frank. "It's scary, it's scary."
Police say Volkov was seen on video entering and leaving the victims' building after they were reported missing.
WBZ spoke with property managers on site who had nothing to say about the incident. "Anything can happen anywhere," said Brown.
While the homicide appears to be an isolated incident, residents still find the news unsettling. WBZ spoke with a woman who just moved to Medford. "It's all new to me, so I don't know what to think of it," she said.
According to the Middlesex District Attorney, the Brighton storage unit was rented by the suspect in one of the victim's names. That rented U-Haul truck was also found at the storage facility.
Volkov will appear in Somerville District Court on Tuesday.