Medford double-murder suspect held without bail after bodies of missing men found in storage unit
SOMERVILLE – The suspect who allegedly murdered a married Medford couple and left their bodies inside a storage unit was ordered held without bail.
Leonid Volkov was arrested in connection to the deaths over the weekend and faced a judge in Somerville District Court on Tuesday.
Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan said Pavel Vekshin, 28, and Kiryl Schukin, 37, of Medford were reported missing earlier this month. On Saturday, the men's bodies were discovered at the iStorage facility on North Beacon Street in Brighton.
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.
Prosecutors say Volkov knew both men and was seen on video entering and leaving their apartment building in the days after they went missing.
Bleach, rubber gloves, and some of the victims' belongings were found in the storage unit.
"Investigators found numerous used cleaning products, bloody towels and wipes, and bathroom items from the victims' apartment including a blood stained shower curtain and a rug," said Assistant District Attorney Ceara Mahoney in court on Tuesday.
Mahoney said the storage unit was rented in one of the victim's names using one of their passports.
"Mr. Schukin was last seen exiting the building on the evening of March 29th entering a white moving van at 61 Locust Street," she said. "The defendant admitted he picked up Schukin in his U-Haul," Mahoney continued. "Video shows the white moving van returning to the area... However, Schukin was not shown on surveillance reentering the building or in the days thereafter."
The suspect apparently also left a paper trail. "Credit card records show numerous credit card purchases made at businesses throughout Eastern Massachusetts when the victims were missing and believed to be deceased," added the prosecutor.
Volkov's defense attorney told WBZ her client knew Schukin for a couple of years.
Debra DeWitt believes there are holes in the Commonwealth's case. "A lot of what they have is circumstantial in nature," said DeWitt.
Volkov, his wife, and two children, were recently evicted from their Cabot Road apartment in Medford after Schukin said he'd no longer be the co-signer on the family's lease.
One of the victim's friends who wished to remain anonymous, tells WBZ Pavel Vekshin loved the city. "He was huge fan of Massachusetts, New England, Boston," she said. "Pavel was a great person."
She added that Vekshin loved photography. He often posted his shots of Boston on Instagram.
"I think it's not fair, because he was a good person and really young," she continued.
Her husband saw Vekshin just one day before he went missing. She said they had never heard of Volkov from their friend. "No, I never heard of him before," she responded when asked if she knew the suspect.
Vekshin's friends are looking for a local art gallery to host an exhibition of Vekshin's photography in his honor.
Volkov's next court date is May 19th.
