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Suspect Detained in Case of Murdered Moscow Journalist Rubtsov

Alexander Rubtsov NSN

The alleged murderer of Alexander Rubtsov, an editor at the Natsionalnaya Sluzhba Novosti (National News Service), has been detained in western Moscow, the Moscow branch of the Investigative Committee reported Friday.

The murder suspect, a man born in 1986, has been detained while investigators conduct further forensic and fingerprint analysis, the Investigative Committee official website reported.

The victim provided the murder suspect with keys to his apartment shortly before the crime occurred, the Investigative Committee reported.

Rubtsov, an editor at Natsionalnaya Sluzhba Novosti (NSN) — which prepares news content for radio stations — had been found murdered in his Moscow apartment, the news service reported Thursday.

The 35-year-old journalist was murdered on May 3. That same day, his mother found his body with multiple stab wounds when visiting her son for the May holidays.

While NSN did not link the murder to the professional activities of the journalist, they said that Rubtsov was "definitely killed by someone he knew, who he let into his apartment himself."

Over the past two years Rubtsov could be heard presenting news on NASHI radio, Rock FM, Best FM, and Radio JAZZ. He made his last radio broadcast on April 29.

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