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Police Nab Alleged Murderer Soltys in California
SACRAMENTO, California, Aug 30 (News Agencies) - Alleged murderer Nicolay Soltys - accused of brutally murdering six members of his family on August 20th - was arrested here Thursday, police said.
The 27-year-old Ukrainian immigrant was taken into custody without a struggle at his mother's house after a nationwide manhunt, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department said.
Soltys - wearing a blue T-shirt and dirty black pants - was put into a sheriff's squad car and taken for questioning, as police and media helicopters hovered overhead.
Police had the home under 24-hour surveillance, and said Soltys appeared to have snuck in under cover of darkness over the backyard fence, investigators told a crowded news conference shortly after the arrest.
The two police officers said they were preparing to turn over their watch at the end of their shift when they saw family members leave the house "in a very hurried fashion" around 1415 GMT.
They drove to a nearby store where the brother of the alleged murderer - who had been placed on the FBI's "10 Most Wanted List" after the murderous rampage - placed a '911' call, said Sacramento County Sheriff's Detective Chris Joachim.
Joachim and Sergeant Virgil Brown of the Sacramento Police Department then found Soltys hiding under a desk in the backyard. He tried to flee, but an old refrigerator blocked his way, Brown said.
He is accused of killing his pregnant 22-year old wife Lyubov, their three-year-old son, Sergey, his aunt and uncle and their two grandchildren.
Fears that members of the Russian and Ukrainian communities may have helped him appear to have been unfounded. Police thanked the communities for their cooperation Thursday.
"He was very dirty, whole body was very dirty, like he'd been camping out," Joachim said. "He had two or three days of growth on his beard.
Soltys was carrying a potato peeler and a map of the Sacramento area. On the other side of the fence police found a sleeping bag and a backpack containing a knife.
"We're not sure if it was the murder weapon, but it's similar to the knife that was used," Joachim said.
The murderous rampage 10 days ago rocked this area, especially the large Slavic community, estimated at 75,000 to 100,000 strong.
On Sunday some 5,000 people attended an emotional memorial service at the sprawling Bethany Slavic Missionary Church in the outskirts of Sacramento.
"We are in unspeakable sorrow," Pastor Adam Bordaruk told mourners at the bilingual service. "We have experienced disturbing days of intense sorrow and there is no easy answer to this tragedy of the past week."
The first victim was Soltys' wife, stabbed to death in a Sacramento suburb. Their three-year-old son Sergey was stabbed, sexually assaulted, and his body left in a box in a trash-filled creek bed later that night.
Police allege that in between those murders, Soltys drove to the home of his aunt and uncle, Galina Kukharskaya and Petr Kukharskiy, and killed them along with their grandchildren, nine-year-old Tatiana Kukharskaya, and Dimitriy Kukharskiy, 10.
Since the killings police had maintained 24-hour surveillance on the homes of Soltys' relatives, "not only to provide safety but in the hope that he may try to make contact with them," Sheriff Lou Blanas said.
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