Bloody massacre in the night

It is believed that there were no contract killings in the USSR, but from time to time they still happened. For example, the husband was tired of his wife, so he asked his relative or friend “to pinch the serpent underfoot”. Or vice versa. Such murders were classified as crimes “committed on family grounds”. And the fact that this is a pure “order” did not bother anyone. Well, contract killings did not correspond to the ideology of the state of workers and peasants: such crimes could be committed only in the “rotting” West.

Despite this, at the beginning of his service, the future legend of the Kazakh criminal investigation Nikolai Gritsevich still had to take part in the investigation of such a family order.

About how everything happened, told the former Director of the Museum of the Department of Internal Affairs of Almaty Lyudmila Mikhailovna Kolesnikova (unfortunately, she has already left this world):

“The murder of Vitaly Grigorievich Klochkov took place on April 10, 1974,” recalled Lyudmila Mikhailovna. - Then Nikolai Gritsevich still comprehended the basics of operational-search work under the leadership of an excellent operative, police major Kuruk Tugelbayev. It was Major Tugelbayev who called Gritsevich lucky.

Night guest

Alma-Ata. Late May night. A winding street. A number of private houses near the river Vesnovka. Vitaly Grigorievich Klochkov and his wife sit in the hall and watch TV. About 23 hours there was a knock on the door. Who could it be? The owner, as a cautious person, without coming down from the porch, loudly asked: “What do you need?”.

- Uncle Vital, he replied. - It's me, your relative Shurik. I am the son of Maximov Leonid Ivanych, the brother of your second cousin.

- “Ah, come in,” the owner replied.

And then, after a while, the wife of the owner of the house heard a loud terrible cry. There was a knock of sweeps after him. Someone rushed out of the yard. The woman, jumping into the corridor, saw her husband lying on the floorboard near the front door.

Shurik! the dying man wheezed and, having gone several times, died. A bloody puddle spread across the floor..

The woman rushed to the neighbors because they had a phone. Soon, a police "UAZ" and an ambulance arrived at the house of the deceased.

After examining the owner lying on the floor, the doctor only spread his hands:

- He's dead..

Soon, an investigative and operational group arrived at the crime scene: the deputy chief of the threat department of the Internal Affairs Department of the city of Almaty Tugelbayev and the duty investigator of the Prosecutor's Office of the Soviet District.

At nine in the morning, Major Tugelbayev reported to Colonel Rakhimov, Deputy Chief of the Alma-Ata Internal Affairs Department, the results:

A neighbor heard a scream, but as he was getting dressed, the killer escaped. But one girl saw a guy jump over a concrete barrier and run straight across the river. One time he stumbled and collapsed into the water.

Wife of Vitaly K. Marina Koshkina lived with him for seven years in an unregistered marriage. She was worried that she did not go out with her husband and did not consider the guest.

- The victim has many relatives. We checked everyone, including those far away, but they have a firm alibi, Tugelbayev concluded.

- Your version? - Colonel Rakhimov asked.

- Revenge, the major replied. The victim was killed by three very strong stabs. The attack was sudden, and the victim did not even have time to close. There's not a scratch on your hands.

The colonel ordered Tugelbayev to head the operational-search group, which included Lieutenant Nikolai Gritsevich, as well as junior lieutenant Vitaly Erbes from the Soviet district department.

The investigation was conducted by the investigator of the prosecutor's office of the Kazakh SSR for particularly important cases Orumbayev.

Should I look for an offended woman?

First of all, it was decided to work out the family ties of the victim in all directions, as well as his colleagues and acquaintances.

There were two hundred people. Lieutenant Gritsevich traveled around Alma-Ata all day, looking for those who could help attack the criminal in any way. Some names disappeared, but new ones appeared. The operatives went to Chimkent and Frunze, to Talgar and Uzun-Agach, where relatives of Klochkov and his partner lived. It turned out that no one held resentment against the victim, although the person he was withdrawn and in recent years almost no relatives communicated. But he didn't hurt anyone. The same was said about the dead man at the enterprises where he worked for the last 10 years. A calm man, worked, and home.

After a week of searching, Major Tugelbayev reported to Colonel Rakhimov that the victim Klochkov, it turns out, seven years ago abandoned his former wife Natalia Klochkova and went to Marina Vasilievna Koshkina.

The operatives found out that Natalia Klochkova lived in Almaty, but the next day after the murder left for Kaskelen.

- Our interviewed friends and colleagues (Klochkova worked in a working dormitory on duty on the floor) say that recently she behaved strangely. She became irritable and said that she was sick and would go to the hospital, and she went to Kaskelen to see a friend. By the way, one of her colleagues told Gritsevich that after the divorce with her husband, she hated him.

Perhaps it was she who asked one of the residents of the dormitory to take revenge on her ex-husband? But it will not be easy to check this version, because you will have to work out more than 700 people!

As a result, Colonel Rakhimov ordered to place all the checks on the hostel on Gritsevich and Erbes:

- Major, give them more people to help. We'll go to the prosecutor's office. We need to resolve the issue with Natalia Klochkova.

During the meeting, the Deputy Head of the Investigation Department of the Prosecutor’s Office of the Kazakh SSR, Senior Counsellor of Justice Gapich, studied all the information collected by the operatives. The participants of the meeting concluded that there is every reason to suspect Klochkov of involvement in the murder. Deputy Prosecutor of the Republic, State Councilor of Justice of the 3rd class Morozov also agreed with this.

Natalia Klochkova on the basis of Article 65 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Kazakh SSR as a suspect in involvement in a serious crime decided to be detained.

After the arrest, she immediately threw a terrible tantrum, and then unconvincingly acted out fainting and amnesia. But it was not possible to obtain a confession from her. Therefore, all the inhabitants of the “hotel” operas had to sift through a small sieve. They were mainly workers, but there were also “slippery” types among them. Which of these people was close to Klochkova?

The killer is a turner?

The dormitory took three days to work out, until finally there were only five surnames left on the list. But those people weren't there! They all left right after the murder!

Search again, meet again, talk again. And so until it turned out that three went to study in institutes, and the fourth went to the hospital. The only one left is Andrei Musin, a 30-year-old turner. He left on April 11. Said he was going to Ayaguz to see his parents.

Having talked about him with the inhabitants of the dormitory, Nikolai Gritsevich found out that they all did not like him and, importantly, were afraid.

Musin was bold, impertinent and physically very strong. After work, I used to spend time in pubs, where I necessarily started a quarrel with someone. Like he said, don't get bored. But all this negative characteristic would not be worth eating an egg, if not for one circumstance. This 30-year-old boy was friends with a 47-year-old woman Klochkova. What could connect them?

As it turned out, during their duties, she treated Musin with vodka, and in the evenings they talked about something for a long time. About what? Unknown..

Suspicious was the simultaneous departure of both, and the words of the roommate Musin that he never went outside without a knife.

In addition, another duty officer reported that on the evening when Klochkov was killed, Musin came to the dormitory at night all wet, and in the morning left for Ayaguz.

There went for him Lieutenant Gritsevich and Lieutenant Erbes. But on arrival, it turned out that Musin’s parents did not live there. But there was registered the older brother of the suspect Michael. The operatives established that Musin visited his brother, and then went to his relatives in the neighboring district center.

- Of course, he wants to fall to the bottom, Gritsevich told his partner. You stay in Ayaguz, in case you come back. I'm going after Musin.

On the way, Gritsevich reached the district center. But there it turned out that Musin again left, now - to the village of North. Having taken a car in the local district department, Gritsevich, together with captain Kuznetsov seconded to him, went there.

That's the deal. The captain is known by all the locals, so he will stay in the car, and Nikolai will go and find out what is what. Seeing the guys resting on the bench, the lieutenant asked if they had seen Musin. They said he went to the movies at 21:30.

There Gritsevich went, hoping to intercept Musin after the end of the session. Following him to the cinema came and police “UAZik”. Entering the hall, the operative examined and, seeing the suspect, went to him.

"Hello, Andrew," he whispered. - You don't know?

Musin looked suspiciously at Gritsevich.

- No, who are you?

- I'm Kolka, Gritsevich. Your brother Misha's buddies. He said hello to you and a note. Shall we go out?

Musin got up. “Healthy, asshole!” the opera said.

Coming out in the foyer, Gritsevich sharply grabbed Musin by the hands and tried to put on handcuffs. But I could only hold one hand. The suspect jerked and waved his pood fist, but Nikolai managed to sharply throw him to the floor. Kuznetsov ran into the cinema, and after a couple of seconds Musin was already “resting” in handcuffs.

In his pocket was found a knife, which operatives in the presence of witnesses immediately seized. A few days later, near the handle itself, experts will find traces of blood of the same group as the victim Klochkov

But even before the conclusion of the experts, Musin confessed to the murder.

Everything happened exactly as the operatives expected. After seven years ago, the victim divorced his first wife Klochkova and began to live with Koshkina, his ex-wife hated him and swore revenge.

She had been searching for her revenge for almost seven years and found it. An angry, stupid and unattached egoist. He had to work with a lot, constantly treat vodka, throw money and promise a large sum for the murder of his ex-husband. Knowing Klochkov’s relatives, the organizer of the murder planned to send Musin to his ex-husband. He was supposed to be the second cousin of the victim. The plan worked. Musin was cruel to a man who had done nothing wrong to him. He slaughtered as easily as he did in his hometown

The court sentenced the killer to 12 years in prison, and the organizer of the crime ex-wife went to prison for 10 years.

The names of the actors, other than police officers and prosecutors, have been changed for ethical reasons.