A former official from the Moscow region is awaiting a new trial for the murder of his mistress, Evgenia Isaenkova, who was deputy chairman of the regional Public Chamber. What is known about this case?
– Almost there! I'll soon say: I regret the day we met! What do you really want? Explain to me! Kulakov asked in a messaging app a few days before the tragic event. Both were married. According to some sources, the deputy head of the Public Chamber's lover, 39-year-old Evgenia Isaenkova, repeatedly urged Kulakov to leave his family, but he prioritized his career and didn't want to end his official marriage.
On May 4, 2019, during another rough patch in their relationship, a woman was found strangled in the back seat of her Mercedes.
Prosecutors vs Juries
The 48-year-old former head of the administration of the Ramensky municipal district of the Moscow region (now the Ramensky urban district) Kulakov was immediately accused of murder. Allegedly, the official strangled his girlfriend out of jealousy. The ex-mayor spent two and a half years in detention until, at the end of October last year, a jury appeared to put an end to the high-profile case by finding Kulakov innocent. In November, the Podolsky District Court, based on this decision, decided to acquit the ex-official and acknowledge his right to rehabilitation.
The state prosecution appealed the acquittal, and just a month later the Moscow Regional Court overturned it. The prosecutor cited violations during the case's consideration – one of the jurors failed to disclose his previous conviction (which had expired). Another juror did not mention the criminal records of relatives. And the concierge of Kulakov's house, who testified that no one left the building on the night of the murder, including from the back entrance, had previously been diagnosed with a personality disorder.
The case will now be retried by a new jury, possibly in a different court.
Andrey Kulakov, the former head of the Ramensky district, accused of the murder of Yevgenia Isaenkova, during the election of a measure of restraint. Photo © Moscow City News Agency / Igor Ivanko
According to the prosecutor, Kulakov could influence witnesses and obstruct the process. Therefore, during a regular session of the Podolsky City Court of the Moscow Region yesterday, Kulakov was taken into custody.
strange death
Forensic experts determined that Isaenkov was initially struck in the face, then pulled to the back seat of the car, where someone strangled her with an unidentified object. On the day before her death – April 30 – Isaenkova met with Kulakov in a rented apartment and spent about six hours with him. Then the head of the Ramensky district went to work. Based on their conversation, on May 1, Kulakov promised to wake her up the next morning. Late at night, Isaenkova told her husband that she was allegedly planning to visit a friend, left her phones at home, and went alone to a remote area in a forest, where she was killed.
According to investigators, Kulakov allegedly could strangle Isaenkova because of “personal hostile relations.” Perhaps he arranged a night meeting with Isaenkova, left the house through the fire exit and walked to the appointed place, hiding from the ubiquitous cameras.
Evgenia Isaenkova. Photo © Twitter / zgldz
The investigation lasted more than two and a half years. The official’s possible involvement in the crime was indicated by DNA samples found under the victim’s nails and a failed polygraph. The emotional correspondence with Isaenkova also testified not in favor of Kulakov. The woman could blackmail the official with threats to tell her family about their relationship. Isaenkova also allegedly said that she had another man (in addition to her husband and Kulakov himself). There was also information that Isaenkova was allegedly diagnosed with HIV, which could cause his anger.
The former official denied guilt from the very beginning, claiming that at the time of the murder he was at home with his relatives. In his favor is the complete absence of nightly recordings with him from CCTV cameras and the testimony of the very concierge, whose words the prosecutor’s office considers compromised due to her observation by a psychiatrist. It was also established that immediately before Isaenkova’s death, unknown persons from anonymous Telegram accounts threatened her.
