Police are rapidly collecting evidence to identify the perpetrator in the murder and dismemberment case of a Russian man in Chonburi. Blood stains were discovered under the seat of a motorcycle, and it was found that the scene was staged, with plans to hire a 16-year-old boy to search for the victim.
In the case of Mikhail Emelianov, a 30-year-old Russian national who disappeared without a trace, his mother Olga Lazabenko, 51, flew from Russia to Thailand to report her missing son to the police, fearing something bad had happened. Prior to his disappearance, the victim received threatening messages from a fellow Russian demanding repayment of a debt exceeding $120,000, approximately 3.7 million baht. A report was filed on 8 January 2026.
Today (2 Feb) at 10:30 a.m., Pol. Maj. Gen. Chokchai Ngamwong, Deputy Commander of Provincial Police Region 2, along with Pol. Col. Kittisak Yakumpai, Deputy Commander of Forensic Science Division 2, and forensic officers inspected blood stains on a bronze-gray Yamaha N-MAX motorcycle registered in Chonburi. This motorcycle was rented and used by the victim to leave his residence in the Khao Phra Tamnak area (Kasetsin Soi) before heading to the last known location he communicated to his mother, where he was brutally murdered. The motorcycle was also used by the perpetrator to transport the victim’s dismembered body parts in black bags for burial. Initial checks found blood stains in the storage compartment under the seat.
Additionally, forensic officers from Division 2 and Nong Prue Police Station conducted a site inspection at the two-story townhouse used for dismembering the victim’s body, located about one kilometer from the burial site. Police searched for evidence including sharp tools believed to have been used to slice flesh and cut bones, as well as latent fingerprints, to strengthen the case against the suspect.
Neighbors told reporters that on the night of 9 January around 8:50 p.m., one of the Russian suspects came asking for help, claiming he had lost his house keys and requesting contact with a locksmith to open the door. He also asked to borrow 500 baht to pay the locksmith. The neighbor did not find this suspicious and lent the money out of sympathy. The suspect returned the money the next morning and left the house, never to return. The neighbor was shocked to later learn a murder had occurred at that residence.
Reporters later met with Mr. M (alias), 45, uncle of Mr. Ton (alias), a 16-year-old youth who was hired by the Russian suspects for 2,500 baht to search for the victim in order to fabricate a scenario to mislead the police.
Mr. M recounted that on the evening of 9 January, his nephew was riding a motorcycle near the house where the crime occurred when a Thai woman approached him. She asked for help finding a man and showed him a passport photo—the victim’s picture—claiming, “This foreigner (the victim) has disappeared and may have problems with his wife.” She offered 2,500 baht for the search. Being young and attracted by the money, the boy agreed but could not find the man. When news broke that a Russian mother was searching for her missing son, the nephew told his uncle about being hired to look for the Russian man.
When the brutal murder and dismemberment of the Russian victim were discovered yesterday, the nephew was shocked, trembling and fearful. The uncle comforted him and advised, “Don’t let money cloud your judgment; always verify things carefully.” Following this, police officers summoned the boy for questioning in connection with the case.