Krasnodar (the administrative center of the Krasnodar territory in southern Russia, sometimes referred to as the Kuban), December 22, 2014
The Belorechensk district court (the Krasnodar territory) has pronounced sentence on the 43-year-old Yuri Skripalev, charged with killing a priest and setting fire to his house, reports Interfax with the reference to the public prosecutor’s office of the administrative territory’s press service.
He has been sentenced to twelve years of imprisonment at a high security penal colony. He has been found guilty of committing of the following crimes: “murder” (the Russian Federation’s penal code, article 105, part 1), “car theft” (the RF’s penal code, art. 166, part 1), and “deliberate destruction of property” (the penal code, art. 167, part 1).
Archpriest Nikolai Medentsev, Rector of the Church of the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God in the town of Belorechensk, was killed in October 2013. According to the criminal case materials, the murder defendant set the priest’s house on fire with the help of kerosene in order to conceal the traces of his crime. Then he placed the priest’s body into the boot (trunk) of his car and tried to flee the scene of the crime. However, at an intersection he lost control of the car and ran into a tree.
The reason for the murder was a property dispute begtween Yuri Skripalev and his ex-wife, who is a niece of the deceased archpriest. Owing to this the accused had a conflict with Father Nikolai.
The court, while passing the sentence, has taken into account that the murderer himself came to the police and confessed to the crimes he had committed. At the court session he also did not deny his guilt.
