Thai police arrest 2 Russian men over ‘heinous’ dismemberment of fellow national
Two Russians have been accused of murdering Mikhail Emelianov after his body parts were found across abandoned land near Pattaya
Body parts of the 30-year-old victim, Mikhail Emelianov, were found on Sunday scattered across a section of abandoned land just outside the eastern tourist city renowned for its large Russian expatriate community.
Police arrested Iaroslav Demidov, 35, and Dmitrii Maskalev, 38, in a Bangkok hotel later on Sunday, accusing them of carrying out the murder and grisly disposal of the body. Both denied the allegations.
The victim was last seen in early January on CCTV cameras riding with one of the accused on their moped to a housing complex near where the body was later found, police told reporters on Monday.
But officers said he never emerged from the address. Instead the two accused allegedly made repeated trips to the scrubland, with body parts of their victim believed to be stuffed into the compartment under the bike seats.
“This is an extremely heinous and brazen case … a violent and horrifying crime that has shocked the public,” Police Lieutenant General Chatchai Surachetphong of Nong Prue police station told reporters on Monday, confirming the arrests.