A Smolensk district police officer who accumulated debts due to sports betting will be tried for the murder and robbery of three people.

In the Smolensk region, the investigation into the case of a 52-year-old district police officer, who is accused of murder and robbery of three people, has been completed, according to the website of the regional department of the Investigative Committee.

According to the investigation, at the end of May 2017, the local police officer, while on duty, learned that the person who contacted the police had a large sum of money. The district policeman had a lot of debts, due to his “addiction” to betting on sports. A few days later he put on his uniform, came to the applicant's home and killed him by hitting him in the head 19 times with a hard, blunt object.

In addition, the investigation established that in April 2017, a police officer gained the trust of an 80-year-old man and his common-law wife, killed them and stole 150 thousand rubles from their house. Readovka writes that before this, the couple contacted the police because they had lost their money. Then the police came to their hostel and helped them find money that was hidden in the room.

The investigation also established that in September 2017, the district police officer deceived his friend and stole a gold chain from him, promising to help with its sale. He sold the jewelry to a pawnshop. The insurance company estimates the damage at 40 thousand rubles. During the search, the police also found 23 cartridges for a pistol.

The case was initiated under paragraphs “a”, “h” of Part 2 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code (murder of two or more people for mercenary motives), paragraph “c” of Part 4 of Article 162 of the Criminal Code (robbery causing grievous bodily harm), Part 1 of Article 222 of the Criminal Code (illegal acquisition and storage of ammunition) and part 2 of Article 159 of the Criminal Code (fraud). The district police officer categorically denies guilt in the murders and was fired from the police.