Top Scientist Behind Russia’s Sputnik V Covid Vaccine Strangled To Death

Russian media reported on Saturday one of the scientists who helped to create the Russian COVID-19 vaccine Sputnik V, was strangled to death with a belt at his apartment.

Russian News Agency TASS quoted the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation as saying, “The scientist Botikov,47, was a senior researcher at the Gamaleya National Research Center for Ecology and Mathematics, was found dead in his apartment on Thursday”.

Botikov was one of 18 scientists who developed the Sputnik V vaccine in 2020.

Russian President Vladimir Putin honored the virologist with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland award for his work on the COVID vaccine in 2021.

The federal investigative agency said in the statement, “The suspect was arrested shortly after Botikov’s body was found”.

The statement further read, “His death is being investigated as a murder”.

According to the report, ” Law enforcement agencies said the murder was a domestic crime and the result of a conflict”.

“A 29-year-old young man strangled Botikov with a belt during an argument and fled. Law enforcement agencies said the murder was a domestic crime and the result of a conflict”, the report read.

The Investigative Committee stated, “The location of the attacker was established in short order. During the interrogation, he pled guilty and was charged”.

“The defendant has a previous criminal record, as he stood trial on charges of committing a serious crime. In the near future, the investigation plans to petition the court to place the defendant in custody pending trial”, the committee added.

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