Court orders destruction of evidence from the house of Sokolov, a historian who dismembered a graduate student

The Oktyabrsky district court of St. Petersburg has ruled to destroy physical evidence seized from the apartment of former associate professor of St. Petersburg State University (SPbSU) historian Oleg Sokolov, who killed and dismembered a graduate student in 2019. This is stated in the decision published on the portal of the court.

"A shotgun sawed-off shotgun marked "№", a traumatic pistol with the factory number "№", five pistol cartridges of traumatic action of caliber <daninye izty> mm and two casings - to destroy," reads the court's decision.

In addition, the list also includes an axe, a hacksaw, two kitchen knives, seven fragments of bullets of caliber 5.56, as well as several dozen items.

In December 2022, it became known that Sokolov became head of the library in the correctional facility where he is serving his sentence. The man, in addition to working in the library, also leads in the colony a historical circle for those interested in the humanities.

In November 2019, Oleg Sokolov killed his graduate student Anastasia Yeshchenko and dismembered her body. In late December 2020, the Oktyabrsky District Court decided that the historian had the intent to kill Yeschenko. Sokolov himself claimed that he killed the girl unintentionally. After he fully admitted guilt and repented of what he had done. According to the accused, he was "in a state of complete insanity" at the time of the murder of the 24-year-old girl, who lived with him.

Sokolov was charged under two articles: part 1 of article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Murder") and part 1 of article 222 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Acquisition and storage of firearms and ammunition"). The prosecutor's office demanded a sentence of 15 years' imprisonment in a strict regime colony. The court sentenced him to 12.5 years of imprisonment.