The bodies of two missing men from Medford, Massachusetts, who were last seen in late March, were found this weekend inside a storage unit, and another man has been charged in connection to their deaths.
Authorities began searching for 28-year-old Pavel Vekshin and 37-year-old Kiryl Schukin after the pair was reported missing by friends and coworkers on Sunday, April 9. According to the Middlesex District Attorney's Office, the couple had not been seen or heard from since March 30.
On Sunday, Middlesex DA Marian Ryan and Medford Chief of Police Jack Buckley announced that the bodies of Schukin and Vekshin had been located inside rubber storage bins inside a storage unit on North Beacon Street in Brighton on Friday just before midnight.
According to officials, the investigation indicates that both men died from stab wounds. Schukin's body had also been dismembered and placed among several of the bins, officials said. Both men's deaths were ruled homicides.
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The storage unit where the men were found had been rented by Leonid Volkov using one of the victim's names, officials said. Bleach, rubber gloves and other items that were traceable to Volkov were located inside the unit, the DA said.
Volkov, also of Medford, was arrested without incident in North Attleboro on Saturday and charged with murder, officials said. The 37-year-old was known to the victims.
According to the district attorney's office, Schukin had been a guarantor on the lease for Volkov's apartment in Medford but, after a recent argument, Schukin declined to keep being the guarantor on a lease extension, which resulted in Volkov being evicted from his home.
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Investigators believe Volkov and Schukin met in a rented U-Haul truck, which Volkov was driving, on March 29. Schukin was never seen alive after that conversation.
Investigators say a person believed to be Volkov was seen on video entering and leaving the victims' building in the days following the last time both Schukin and Vekshin were last seen.
Officials say that police located the U-Haul truck at the storage facility where the victims' bodies were found. Investigators believe Volkov was using the vehicle to transport items from the victims' Locust Street apartment to the storage facility.
Medford Police Chief Jack Buckley said they strongly believe there is no danger to the community, noting that the suspect is in custody and that he was known to the victims.
Volkov will be arraigned on Tuesday in Somerville District Court. It was not immediately clear if he had obtained an attorney who could speak on his behalf. The DA's office said it expects more charges to be filed in the coming days.
