"According to the father of the suspect, the boys had been cooking sausages, feeling confident that everything would turn out alright, in the events leading up to the fatal incident at Baikal."
Revised Version:
Payloading Grief: Families Pay Tribute to Baikal Tragedy Victims
Ground Zero: The Site of the Baikal Tragedy, Blooms with Tears and Tributes
Photo by Anastasia KURENOVA. [Link to Photo Bank KP]
A tearful 14-year-old boy, one among the countless mourners, shouts out in disbelief, "How the hell did this happen?! Why did he go there?" as he lines up at the entrance to the church. He's part of the throng that's converged in Baikal, to bid adieu to the teenagers who fell victim to the horrific incident at a party.
Four souls have departed this world... The fifth, a suspected perpetrator named Ivan Savelyev (alias changed), is scheduled for burial in the same cemetery, but the time and method remain undetermined.
The entire town seems to have assembled at the scene of the tragedy, to honor the teenagers at the Holy Trinity Church. Friends, teachers, classmates, acquaintances, and strangers clasp bouquets and wreaths.
*- It was us who informed her father about what transpired, shared the friends of 16-year-old Karina, who also perished. - Our surviving friends shared the details. We rushed to Karina's parents' apartment, pounded on the door, and yelled for them to dress up and leave for the dacha immediately. Her father, upon barging in, hoisted her body and implored, "Please, wake up!" He couldn't grasp the reality.
The town's mourners extend across the spectrum.
Photo by Anastasia KURENOVA. [Link to Photo Bank KP]
Echoes of Lives Left Untold: Survivors of the Baikal Tragedy Remain Hospitalized
Four survivors who barely escaped the fate of their deceased peers are battling their way back to health in the hospital. A 14-year-old boy suffered the worst injuries and lay unconscious for a prolonged period, but at last, he stirred to consciousness.
- We brushed up against his mom for a bit, she was in pieces, shares Tatiana Afanasyeva, the children's rights ombudsman for the Irkutsk region. - We conversed about trivial, childlike topics, about summer and the impending vacation...
Four souls linger on the brink of life and death.
Photo by Anastasia KURENOVA. [Link to Photo Bank KP]
A Home Built with Love and Tragedy: The Destroyed Dacha of Baikal
The tragic incident unfolded last week in Baikal. Fourteen teenagers, aged 13-17, gathered at Ivan Savelyev's dacha to celebrate a birthday party. The following morning, five bodies were discovered in two dwellings on the property. Nine others emerged unscathed: five managed to flee in taxis, and four thanks to Lena. She was stabbed and played dead, slipped through a window, and managed to flag down a passing car for help. Ivan, thinking everyone else was gone, set his parents' home ablaze and met his end in the flames.
Ivan was the school's golden boy, with his picture adorning the honor board, and a star wrestler at the local sports school.
The bereaved parents crafted an impromptu memorial on the property, laying flowers for their children.
A neighbor gazes over the debris:
- The owner worked on this house for five years! It was an idyllic cottage. He wanted everybody to live there together. He had four children: three boys and a little girl. Ivan was the second to the youngest.
Our neighbor recalled hearing music playing on the property on that fateful evening, but loud parties were an unusual occurrence there.
Just before the catastrophe, Ivan's father filled up a 50-liter gas tank, which allegedly fueled the explosion of the house following the carnage.
We woke up to a tremendous bang and felt a wave, as though something had detonated. The windows trembled. Then we saw the flames.
Ivan's parents refuse to accept their son's guilt.
Photo by Anastasia KURENOVA. [Switch to KP Photo Bank]
Son Promised Only Three Friends Were Coming: Dad Speaks Out
Later, the property owner, Vladimir, appeared with one of his sons. They both seemed dazed, trying to round up chickens that had escaped onto the property.
I can't wrap my head around what happened here, - Vladimir confesses. - But I can't believe Ivan did this...
He learned about the incident from one of his sons. The son recounted that an unimaginable calamity had befallen the plot. Vladimir hastened to the dacha. However, he was prevented from reaching the crime scene - the police and investigators were already working there.
That day, Ivan declared he intended to invite three friends to the dacha, - Vladimir recalls. - I was there, the three lads arrived in my presence. There was no alcohol with them, I observed. They ignited a fire to grill sausages. In fact, I'd never seen Ivan indulge in alcohol. And the lads vouched that everything would be fine. So I went home peacefully.
It eventually emerged that Ivan had told his elder brother that more guests were on their way.
It appears that one of these friends invited another group, whom Ivan wasn't close to... - suggests Ivan's elder brother.
Ivan first attacked his friends, then set fire to his parents' cottage.
AS THE STORY UNFOLDS
The details of what actually transpired that night are currently under investigation by the Investigative Committee. The source of the alcohol is already established. It wasn't peddled illegally: it was bought legitimately by an 18-year-old and a 25-year-old. Whether they were acquaintances or older kin remains confidential.
A criminal case has been opened under the article "Multiple Murder".
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"Of course, I don't believe that": the father reveals the truth about the party where his 17-year-old son murdered four teenagers in Baikal (details)
"The bodies were covered with a blanket and he left the house". The alleged sequence of the murder of four teenagers in Baikal (details)
- In the general news, the tragedy at Baikal continues to dominate politics, as the community grapples with the aftermath of the horrific events that unfolded at a party.
- Crime and justice representatives are closely monitoring the investigation into the Baikal tragedy, where a suspected perpetrator, Ivan Savelyev, faces charges for multiple murder.
