A forensics expert has said that stab wounds found on the body of a former top Roscosmos official who was awaiting trial on embezzlement charges were not self-inflicted, according to a Russian media report.Vladimir Yevdokimov was found stabbed to death in a detention cell he shared with 11 other inmates on March 18. Law enforcement officials have been investigating the death as a murder, but had earlier not ruled out suicide.
Yuri Pigolkin, head of the forensics department at the First Moscow State Medical University, said he reached the conclusion after examining photos of the deceased.
The head of the department noted that Evdokimov could not have wounded himself in the chest area with such force. "These two blows. They probably get to the spine. Apparently, damage from these wounds can be seen from the opposite side of the chest. In addition, the wounds are deep and wide: the entire blade has probably been shipped," the expert noted.
Yevdokimov, who formerly headed up Roscosmos’ quality control and reliability efforts, was arrested in December on charges of embezzling 200 million rubles ($3.5 million) from the MIG Russian Aircraft Corporation.
Yevdokimov and an alleged accomplice denied the charge. However, Russian media have speculated Yevdokimov might have been murdered to keep him from exposing other embezzlers in the Russian aerospace industry.