In the Voronezh region, 47-year-old Teymuraz Gogiashvili was detained on suspicion of murdering Moscow businesswoman Olena Tsereteli and her 19-year-old daughter. According to Russian media, the man previously served in the Sparta battalion of the so-called "DPR," commanded by Arsen Pavlov, nicknamed "Motorola," The Moscow Times reports, writes UNN.
Details
On October 3, investigators found fragments of the body of 54-year-old Tsereteli in an apartment on Zhulebinsky Boulevard in Moscow, as well as a cache of weapons and ammunition. Later, during a search of the suspect's garage in New Moscow, they discovered the body of her 19-year-old daughter.
According to TASS, after his detention Gogiashvili confessed to both murders. Moskovsky Komsomolets writes that the girl was allegedly shot in the garage, after which the suspect went to her mother, killed her, and dismembered the body. A financial conflict is cited as the likely motive.
Served in "Sparta" and worked for "Russia Today"
According to Russian media reports, Gogiashvili was a fighter in the Sparta battalion of the so-called "DPR." His former wife held the position of "Minister of Justice" of the group in 2014.
In 2019–2021, the man also worked for the Russian propaganda agency "Russia Today," and later obtained Russian citizenship through a simplified procedure. After the start of the full-scale invasion, he regularly traveled to the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
At the time of Gogiashvili's detention, a woman born in 1986 was with him. Law enforcement officers are checking her possible involvement in the crime.