A Russian historian was reportedly sentenced Friday to 12.5 years in jail after being convicted of murdering and dismembering a student lover.
Oleg Sokolov, 64-year-old former professor at St. Petersburg State University known for battle scene reenactments, was discovered in a river November 2019 with a bag containing the severed arms of 24-year-old Anastasia Yeshchenko, Reuters reported Tuesday.
Sokolov pleaded guilty to a murder charge but reportedly said it was not premeditated. Instead, he told the court Yeshchenko had driven him to “a state of complete insanity” by making disparaging comments about his children, according to Reuters. (RELATED: REPORT: Russian Man Confesses To Murdering 26 Women After DNA Evidence Identifies Him)
Russia jails historian for 12.5 years for grisly murder of student lover https://t.co/pxwij1VpY9 pic.twitter.com/ejbkgg8RJG
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 25, 2020
The judge who delivered the verdict said Sokolov shot Yeshchenko four times with a rifle before dismembering her with a knife and saw, according to Reuters. Sokolov reportedly disposed of her phone near his own home before he was found in St. Petersburg’s River Moyka, getting rid of Yeshchenko’s limbs. The judge reportedly said Sokolov got into the river when the victim’s body parts failed to sink but was then unable to get out of the river, due to the cold. (RELATED: Russian Soldier Killed Officer With Axe, Shot Two More In Murder Spree, Investigators Say)
Sokolov, who is an expert on Napoleon Bonaparte, was also found guilty of a weapons possession, which factored into his jail sentence, Reuters reported. Prosecutors had asked for a 15-year sentence.