Toddler Found Dead
Tuesday, August 21, 2001
The 3-year-old son of a man suspected of killing his wife and four relatives was found dead in a cardboard box Tuesday.
Authorities were led to the location by a note found in the suspect's car Monday night. The body of Sergey Soltys was found under a light tower in a Sacramento suburb.
Nikolay Soltys is suspected in the stabbing deaths of his 22-year-old pregnant wife, his aunt and uncle, and two young cousins Monday.
A $10,000 reward was offered Tuesday for the return of the Ukrainian immigrant, who is on the lam.
A nationwide manhunt was under way for the unemployed California resident, 27, suspected of killing his wife at their suburban home, then traveling 20 minutes to kill his aunt, uncle and two young cousins.
"We do consider him armed and dangerous," Sacramento County sheriff's Sgt. James Lewis said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. Earlier, Lewis said detectives anticipated charging Soltys with five counts of homicide.
Sacramento County Sheriff Lou Blanas offered the $10,000 reward as officers stood on guard at Sacramento area bus terminals and airports. Detectives also were investigating reports that Soltys headed to Oregon, where he may have relatives, Lewis said.
Lewis also attempted to reach out to the Russian community in the U.S., which consists of approximately 75,000 Sacramento residents.
"Due to the violent nature of the crimes committed we need more people to come forward and help us," Lewis said. "We understand that people from the Russian community may be reluctant to come forward due to experiences in the old country."
Late Monday, sheriff's deputies found Soltys' 1995 Nissan Altima in a north Sacramento parking lot behind a home improvement store. The car was empty and a nearly three-hour search of the area using helicopters and dogs turned up nothing, authorities said.
Authorities said Soltys was seen leaving his suburban home, where his wife was found stabbed. He was also seen leaving the home of the four other slain family members in his car.
Neighbors of Soltys' wife called police before 10 a.m. Monday. She was stabbed inside the couple's home in suburban North Highlands, then stumbled to a neighbor's doorway and collapsed.
Soltys' aunt and uncle — Galina Kukharskaya and Peter Kukharskiy — were killed at a duplex in Rancho Cordova.
Authorities said Soltys then attacked his 10-year-old cousin and 9-year-old cousin. The children were the grandchildren of the slain couple.
Witnesses said the gravely wounded children ran from the home and that the boy died in the arms of his mother, who ran out of the other half of the duplex when the children began screaming.
The girl was taken to University of California at Davis Medical Center, where she was later pronounced dead.
About an hour after leaving Rancho Cordova, investigators said, Soltys arrived at his mother's house in Citrus Heights to pick up his 3-year-old son.
Soltys' mother told police her son seemed fine and showed no signs that anything was wrong.
Police said they have no motive for the killings. Lewis said there may have been tension in the family because Soltys was not employed and on some kind of aid from the state. He also said drugs and/or alcohol could have been involved.
Neighbor Zoya Zukharsky was also mystified.
"The last time I talked to him was on Friday. He was very happy; nothing seemed wrong at all," said Zukharsky, who was close to the couple and their son. "His wife had just gotten a job and was supposed to start today. She seemed satisfied with life. It was absolutely unexpected."
Soltys came to the United States more than a year ago with an alleged history of domestic abuse, but no known criminal record. His wife, who was about three months pregnant, reluctantly joined him about five months ago, Russell said.
After reuniting with his wife, Lyubov, and son, Soltys apparently began trying to refashion his life.
Unemployed, he began taking English classes full time and was set to start attending American River College Monday, the same day his wife was to start a new job, said Sheriff Capt. John McGinness. Last month, Soltys also tried to attend the Bethany Slavic Missionary Church in Sacramento.
But church leaders were wary of Soltys after a July 12 interview, and the church's board of directors only admitted him to their 2,600-strong congregation as a provisional member, head pastor Leonid Bondaruk said through a translator.
Pastors became concerned when, during the interview — a standard part of screening potential members — Soltys failed to respond when asked, "Did (he) leave his old church in peace," Bondaruk said.
"From (our) eyes, it looked like he'd had a problem with the old church," said Bondaruk. "He comes here, and he pretends everything's all right."
Oleg Bogush, a 19-year-old neighbor, said he has known Soltys since the suspect arrived from Ukraine by way of Binghamton, N.Y.
Bogush said Soltys didn't talk much — neither to neighbors nor in the English classes he took five days a week with his sister.
"The teacher would ask him questions and he would just sit there silently," Bogush said. "It was like thoughts just drained out of his head."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
-- Anonymous, August 21, 2001