Suspect held over the murder of Russia’s ‘sausage king’ who was shot with a crossbow while in a sauna with his girlfriend was ‘closely acquainted with the meat mogul’s ex-wife’
- Vladimir Marugov, 54, was tortured and killed on a family estate near Moscow
- He had been relaxing in the sauna with girlfriend Sabina Gaziyeva, who escaped
- Marugov, who was going through a divorce, owned meat processing factories
- Alexander Mavridi, 49, an ethnic Greek, has been arrested for the murder
A man detained over the crossbow shooting of Russia’s ‘sausage king’ is reported to have been close to the dead meat mogul’s ex-wife.
Vladimir Marugov, 54, owner of the ‘Ozyorsky sausages’ and ‘Meat Empire’ sausage factories, was killed on Monday on a family estate 25 miles west of Moscow where he was staying with Sabina Gaziyeva, 36.
The Russian media have reported the arrest of Alexander Mavridi, 49, an ethnic Greek, who has lived in Moscow for many years.
The suspect is reported to be close to the sausage millionaire’s ex-wife, poet Tatyana Marugova.
The meat tycoon, who owned some of Russia’s biggest meat processing plants, is believed to have been shot then tortured before bleeding to death.
Vladimir Marugov, Russia’s ‘sausage king’, was shot yesterday with a crossbow and tortured to death while relaxing in a sauna with his girlfriend, police say
Alexander Mavridi, 49, an ethnic Greek who has lived in Moscow for many years, has been arrested in connection with the murder
Mavridi is reported to be close to the sausage millionaire’s ex-wife, poet Tatyana Marugova (pictured)
Sabina Gaziyeva (pictured), 36, was tied up but managed to escape through a window to raise the alarm
A law enforcement source told Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper: ‘According to preliminary data, the detainee is closely acquainted with the ex-wife of the murdered businessman.’
Detectives also suspect that although the attack appeared to be a robbery, this may have been a ‘cover’.
Masked men tied up Marugov and his partner Sabina Gaziyeva, 36, who later escaped through a window to raise the alarm.
She had rope wounds on her neck from being tied up.
By the time police reached the multi-millionaire he was dead.
‘In fact, they could have come precisely to kill Marugov,’ said the source.
‘Perhaps they let his mistress escape so that she would retell the story of robbers and torture.’
Police retrieved a silver Citroen with a crossbow (pictured with a target alongside) but the assailants made away by foot in the forest
Two people have been arrested and the Russian Investigative Committee is launching a murder probe
Marugov’s son Alexander (pictured together) was killed in a motorbike crash last year
Mavridi is shown in detention in a video released by the Russian investigative Committee.
The dead man’s mother Lyubov said that her son had not wanted to go for a steam sauna but had been persuaded to do so by his girlfriend.
One of the couple’s two children had been with them, but left the garden sauna to return to the main house shortly before the attack.
Another alleged assailant is still on the run.
Marugov had been involved in a high profile property dispute with his ex-wife in the past year in the wake of their divorce.
The former couple’s son Alexander, 25, was killed in a motorbike crash last year.
The committee said: ‘Several masked men entered a stand-alone sauna building on the household’s estate, tied up the owner of the house and his partner, and demanded the transfer of funds stored in the house.’