Former Russian prison guards reportedly murder 100-year-old WWII veteran

State investigators in Bashkiria have announced the arrest of two men suspected of murdering a 100-year-old World War II veteran named Ivan Nesmeyanov.

The elderly man was killed before dawn on July 9 when robbers broke into his home. The assailants reportedly tortured him, demanding to know where he kept his cash, a neighbor told the news outlet ProUfu.ru. The men apparently hid the money in the forest, where it was later recovered after their arrest, according to investigators. Officials seized 1.5 million rubles ($20,280), reports ProUfu.ru.

The tabloid Life.ru says the two murder suspects are former officers at Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service: 41-year-old Viktor V. and 32-year-old Yuri N. (the Investigative Committee has yet to release their full names). According to ProUfu.ru, however, only one of the suspects worked in the prison system. An unidentified source told Life.ru that officials arrested the two suspects while investigating them for other crimes.

• The victim, Ivan Nesmeyanov, fought in the USSR’s Transbaikal Front against the Empire of Japan. In November 2019, he celebrated his 100th birthday.