A senior vaccine researcher has been found dead at his Moscow apartment after having been strangled to death with a belt according to local reports.
47 year old Andrey Botikov was found dead on Thursday at his residence on Rogova Street, Moscow.
Botikov was a senior researcher in the development of Russia’s Sputnik V covid vaccine at the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology.
Investigators told Russian News Agency TASS that a 29 year old man was arrested shortly after the discovery of Botikov’s body and admitted to strangling him with a belt “during an argument”.
The investigative committee stated that the suspect was apprehended “in short order” and that during questioning he “pled guilty and was charged”
It was also stated that the arrested man “has a previous criminal record, as he stood trial on charges of committing a serious crime.”
In 2021 staff at the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology where Botikov worked were honored by Russian President Vladimir Putin for their efforts in developing the Sputnik V vaccine.
It was reported that Botikov was decorated with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland as one of the chief 18 researchers on the vaccine
At the time Deputy Director for Research at the Ivanovsky Research Institute of Virology of Moscow’s Gamaleya Scientific Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology was awarded an Order of Honor for his contribution to the development of the vaccine.
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