Police in Rostov-on-Don have launched an urgent manhunt for a 49-year-old man suspected of killing and dismembering his elderly parents.
The search began after police officers investigating the disappearance of the retired couple contacted the son, who told them that they should look for his parents inside a freezer.
The married couple had vanished in September, but family members did not report them missing until early November, according to the Russian Telegram news channel Mash. Relatives grew alarmed after the pensioners failed to make contact for approximately two months, prompting them to alert authorities.
The grim discovery came to light after an unpleasant odour emerging from the victims' apartment revealed the truth about their disappearance, according to earlier reports. When police officers reached out to the 49-year-old son during their initial enquiries, he told investigators to inspect the freezer before fleeing the scene.
Search for freight business operator
The suspect fled immediately following the killings and remains at large as officers continue an active search for him. Public business records show that the man is registered as an individual entrepreneur who operates a commercial freight transport and haulage service.
Investigators have previously pursued the same suspect in connection with another violent crime. Exactly ten years ago, Russian law enforcement agencies sought him on suspicion of carrying out a fatal attack against his mother-in-law at a cemetery.
Regional location and background
Rostov-on-Don is a major port city and the administrative centre of the Rostov Oblast in southwestern Russia, situated along the Don River roughly thirty kilometres from the Sea of Azov. In the Russian Federation, individual entrepreneur status functions as the standard legal registration for independent sole traders running commercial enterprises.
The details of the case were initially disclosed by Mash, an influential Russian digital news channel on the Telegram platform that regularly covers domestic crime, legal proceedings and law enforcement investigations. Police in Rostov-on-Don have not released further information about the suspect's potential whereabouts as the manhunt continues.
