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Man accused of killing Medford couple, leaving bodies in storage unit, ordered held without bail
Leonid Volkov allegedly killed two men and dismembered one of their bodies, which were found in a Brighton storage unit.
The man accused of killing a Medford couple and hiding their bodies in a storage unit appeared in court Tuesday.
Leonid Volkov, 37, was ordered held without bail during an arraignment at Somerville District Court. A not-guilty plea was entered on his behalf, The Boston Globe reported.
Volkov allegedly killed Kiryl Schukin, 37 and Pavel Vekshin, 28, a married couple who were first reported missing by friends and co-workers on April 9, according to Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan.
Volkov also was charged with larceny from a building. Prosecutors said they expect more charges against him to be filed in the future.
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Volkov’s lawyer, Debra Dewitt, reportedly said that the prosecution’s case has “holes,” and that Volkov was friends with Schukin for years. Volkov works in information technology, Dewitt added.
The last time anyone had contact with Schukin or Vekshin was on March 30, prosecutors have said. Police executed a search warrant on a storage unit on North Beacon Street in Brighton just before midnight last Friday. They uncovered the bodies of Schukin and Vekshin inside the unit, in rubber storage bins. Both appeared to have been stabbed to death. Schukin’s body had been dismembered, according to Ryan.
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In the storage unit officers also found bleach and rubber gloves linked to Volkov and items belonging to the victims, prosecutors said.
At a press conference Sunday, Ryan detailed what may have led to the killings. Schukin had been a guarantor on a lease for Volkov’s apartment in Medford. Volkov’s lease was coming up for extension, Ryan said, and Schukin decided to no longer be Volkov’s guarantor. Schukin’s decision would have led to Volkov’s eviction.
On March 29, Volkov and Schukin had a conversation inside a U-Haul truck driven by Volkov, Ryan said. Schukin was not seen alive again after that meeting.
In the following days, a person believed to be Volkov was seen on security footage entering and exiting a building at 61 Locust St. in Medford where Schukin and Vekshin lived, Ryan said. The U-Haul truck was eventually found at the storage facility where the bodies of the victims were recovered.
Prosecutors believe Volkov was using the truck to move items from the couple’s apartment to the storage unit. Volkov was renting the unit under Schukin’s name, Ryan said.
Volkov was arrested without incident in North Attleboro Saturday.
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