MOSCOW, May 1 (RIA Novosti) – Taking a loan from your boss is an unconventional move – but less so than repaying it with a crossbow bolt to the back like a Moscow-based power engineer who now faces criminal investigators instead of bailiffs.
Alexei Kopylov, who worked at the Kimpor powder metallurgy plant, ran a dry cleaning service on the premises as a side business, the Investigative Committee reported late Tuesday.
At some point, Kopylov borrowed an unspecified sum from Kimpor’s general director to pay the rent, the report said.
But on Tuesday, the director, Yevgeny Balai, was found dead in a trench on the plant’s premises, slain by a crossbow bolt to his back.
Kopylov was pegged as a suspect the same day and pleaded guilty upon questioning, saying he wanted to avoid repaying the loan, the committee said.
The investigation is ongoing. If charged and convicted of murder, the powerman can end up in jail for up to 15 years.
Crossbows with draw weight under 43 kilogram-force (95 pound-force) are sold in Russia without license. Though they are considered not dangerous for humans, they are often modified upon purchase to increase draw weight.
